This is the combination of two of my favorite foods. I am a sucker for artichoke dip in all forms, and could eat pasta 365 days a year if not for a nagging fear that I would be 365 pounds if I did. I originally came up with this recipe when going through my pantry and fridge trying to come up with something new for dinner - the first edition had frozen artichoke hearts (which I couldn't find at the grocery store today), didn't have any fresh spinach, and was topped with fresh mozzarella. It was more an artichoke dip mac and cheese. Today I didn't have mozzarella, and tried to make it more healthy with the addition of spinach. I think the mozzarella would make this even better, but it was pretty perfect as is.The Ingredients:
-1 14 oz can artichoke hearts in water, drained (or 1 bag frozen artichoke hearts, thawed)
-1 5 oz package baby spinach
-1 15 oz container part-skim ricotta cheese
-1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
-2 large garlic cloves
-½ cup grated parmigiano reggiano
-1 pinch crushed red pepper flake
-Salt and Pepper to taste
-1 box spinach penne
-handful of breadcrumbs
The Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Prepare pasta according to directions. Drain just shy of al dente.
3. While pasta is cooking, combine artichokes, garlic, spinach, red pepper flakes, and 1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano in bowl of food processor. Pulse to combine. Thin out to saucy consistency with stock. Season to taste with salt and papper
4. Combine artichoke mixture with drained penne. Transfer pasta mixture to gratin dish. Top with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and more parmigiano reggiano. Bake at 375°F until cheese melts and top gets bubbly and brown, about 15 minutes.
I feel like using ricotta makes this healthier than a traditional artichoke dip - it's a lot of veggies, less cheese, and no mayo (which is what I usually use in artichoke dip). This would be great with whole wheat pasta, too, if you wanted to make it even healthier. It's so good! I had 2 helpings, and am already looking forward to leftovers tomorrow. Minus the pasta, you could just heat up the artichoke mixture for a good dip, too.
