No, that is not a typo. This was my first attempt at cooking and eating an artichoke. It was unsuccessful. That does not mean I won’t try again! So, I bought a whole artichoke for this recipe, needing the heart. I looked on YouTube and found some videos of how to get to the heart. First, I cut away the stem. Then I peeled off some of the outer leaves and steamed it in a pot on the stove. I then peeled off the remaining leaves, as one of the videos claimed that the purple leaves were “inedible.” I was left with a little cup-like base with fringey-fluffy stuff on it. According to the video, it should be easy to scoop out the fringey-fluff. It was not. What remained was a very small portion of what I assume was the heart. At this point, I decided that this dish would be Linguine With Lentils. I do have to say, it was still quite delicious. Next time, maybe I’ll just buy frozen artichoke hearts.
So, to make this dish you may or may not want artichoke hearts. You’ll also need some linguine, some shallots, green and/or brown lentils, vegetable broth, white balsamic vinegar, capers, oregano, sea salt, and a lemon.
Even though I’ve been a vegetarian for most of my adult life, I still learn new things about vegetarian eats. In addition to learning about the artichoke, I also learned what capers are! Capers are actually part of a plant called Capparis Spinosa, or the Caper Bush. It has round, fleshy leaves and little pink or white flowers. The flower buds are edible, used most often as a seasoning or garnish. They come in a little jar in the Mediterranean foods section of the grocery store. They are dark olive green. They contain a variety of antioxidants and are a good source of Vitamins A and E. (Sources: Wikipedia and WebMD) As with any new food, I was reluctant to try capers. But, I decided to go all in! I really didn’t even notice the capers in the dish, overall. So, lets start by cooking the linguine and the lentils. While these are boiling, cook the shallots in broth in a pan. Add the garlic. Once the linguine and lentils are done cooking, add them to the shallots and garlic and mix everything together. Add the white balsamic vinegar, the oregano, the capers, and a dash of sea salt. Squeeze some lemon juice over the dish and you are ready to enjoy this pasta dish!
