Pasta shapes with artichoke

Tender marinated artichokes tossed through pasta with tuna, olives and tomatoes create a simple, budget-friendly lunch offering.

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 400 g jar of artichokes preserved in olive oil
• sea salt, to taste
• extra virgin olive oil
• 30 g pine nuts
• 350-400 g mixed dried pasta (fusilli, rigatoni, penne, farfalle)
• 280 g tin tuna in brine, well drained and coarsely flaked
• 45 g (¼ cup) green or black olives, pitted and sliced
• 55 g (¼ cup) semi-dried tomatoes, cut into slivers
• small handful of baby basil leaves

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.

2. Meanwhile, place half the artichokes and their oil into a food processor, along with a little pinch of salt. Whiz until smooth, then set aside. Cut the remaining artichoke hearts into quarters. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the quartered artichoke hearts and fry until slightly crisp. Drain on paper towel. Wipe out the pan and return to low heat, then add the pine nuts and stir until golden. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.

3. Drop the various pastas in the boiling water and stir well. If they require different cooking time, be mindful to start cooking the one that takes longer first then add the rest and stir. Cook until al dente, then drain, reserving 125 ml (½ cup) pasta cooking water. Rinse the pasta in a colander under cold running water until cool. Drain well, then add the pasta to a large bowl with the pureed artichoke and toss to combine well, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if necessary if the pasta seems a little dry. Tumble the pasta onto a platter and scatter with the chunks of tuna, sliced olives, semi-dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and basil leaves.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.