Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Tomato Basil Linguine with Merlot Laced Artichokes

This was probably my 2nd or 3rd recipe post since I started blogging. Back then, I was not even aware of the various food blogging events and this recipe was just lazily sitting on my blog without any visitors!But because I lost all my posts (Want to know how? Read this), I thought it would be okay to send this as an entry for two upcoming events, Waiter There is Something In My…Sauce and Presto Pasta Nights.

Over months ago, I had picked up a Merlot laced artichoke spread while shopping at Harry and David. In their pasta section, I found tomato basil linguine which also made its way into my kitchen. I initially intended to use the pasta and the spread separately. But when I am really pressed for time, I end up wearing my "concoction queen" crown and just start throwing in ingredients that I think might work well together. Most of the times thing work well and whatever fails never shows up on this blog :-) So in went the spread and the pasta into the skillet together. This recipe was thus also one of my hit-or-miss attempts, nothing short of throwing darts. Try it out and let me know if I hit the bulls eye.

Ingredients:

Tomato Basil Linguine
3/4 cup Merlot laced artichokes spread (contains artichokes, tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers, black olives, extra virgin olive oil, onions, lemon juice, garlic, salt, balsamic vinegar, all mixed in Merlot)
1/4 cup sliced olives
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs basil
1 tsp fresh rosemary
Salt

Method:

For the Sauce
1. In a saute pan, heat 1 tbs olive oil and add the artichoke spread, olives and salt.
2. Stir until the mixture bubbles.
3. Let it stand for 5 minutes before tossing together with the pasta.

For the Pasta
1. Cook the linguine with 1 tbs dry basil, some salt and olive oil.
2. Cook to the al dente stage; drain the cooking water reserving one big spoonful to use later.
3. Mix the sauce with the pasta and garnish with chopped rosemary.

Thus, the store bought spread was converted into a pasta sauce. Now can I call that 70 % store bought and 30% home made and take a full credit for this delicious sauce and pasta? Why not? This is a perfect toast to the time that I have spent watching Sandra Lee do her semi-home made cooking. You can also prepare the spread used in this pasta at home with the noted ingredients. But then, if you make a trip to Harry and David, a lot of other good specialty foods will also walk into your kitchen (I can almost guarantee this!). So why bother making the sauce at home? May be you will come up with a new pasta combination that way. Bon appetit!

37 comments:

Dee said...

Hey poonam, I have never tried anything with artichokes... this give me the chance to do something. Thanks for the recipe

Ruth Daniels said...

What a great addition to a great basic! Now I'll have to hunt for some merlot artichokes here.

Thanks for playing Presto Pasta Night and I hope to see more of your delicious dishes. Check back for the roundup on Friday.

FH said...

How beautiful!! What a great combination of flavors!:))

bha said...

a good combination to go with

Coffee said...

WHAT! Two posts in a day! Tch, tch, tch! ;) LOL!

Nice combo of flavours

M'nMs said...

Sounds delicious and you're style of cooking sounds similar to mine...

Tee said...

At first, when I read the name of the dish, I was expecting a huge list of ingredients, but as I proceeded, I was surprised ! This is a great recipe! I will surely give it a try if I find this spread in my town :)

USHA said...

Hi Poonam,

Recipe looks rich and delicious...intersting too..hey i enjoyed reading your Tag...it was funny...revenge taking on your DH.

Priyanka said...

Have never tried artichokes.... the recipe looks delicious... will try it out sometime...

Suganya said...

Hi first time to ur blog....This is a great combination..... wonderful flavors huh!....Loved all ur dishes....

swapna susarla said...

Artichokes are good for health!nice recipe.thanks for visiting my blog.

Athika said...

Hii poonam, Lovely blog and very intresting receipes will definetly give it a try. I have never tried arthichoke will try this receipe for sure.

Poonam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Poonam said...

Hi Asha, Bhags, M&Ms, Tee, Usha, Sukanya & Swapna thank you for your comment!

Hey Ruth: I am awaiting the round up.....want some good recipe for the weekend...

Hey coffee, yup i was all fired up for deleting my blog!

Hi Dee, Priyanka, Athika- I can gaurantee that artichokes with pasta taste terrific! :)

Richa said...

hey, that's some nicely plated up linguine :)

Sig said...

looks great Poonam... a great combination of flavors... semi homemade recipes are the best kind...

J said...

Poonam, that's a nice combo! I just read your meme, and esp like point #7 :)

Viji said...

A nice write and the dish looks tempting. Viji

Shilpa said...

Ah, I was hoping to learn a new way to appreciate artichokes since they're in season! :) never bought any before, so don't know how to prepare them but am getting curious.. this pasta dish looks awesome! :)

thanks for leaving me a comment!

Aruna said...

Hi Poonam, Never tried artichokes
;( but urs look tempting enough for me to give it a thought...

themistressofspices.wordpress.com

SeeC said...

Lovely Combo. I have never tried this...Thanks for the post

Kumudha said...

Wonderful recipes!

Thistlemoon said...

This sounds amazing! I love artichokes and merlot - how can you go wrong by putting them together!? Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

Jag said...

Ditto, what an excellent combination. The sad thing for me though is this: apart from the fact that I LOVE merlot and artichokes, I SIMPLY LOVE linguine pasta too, but I just CANNOT seem to get hold of it here in London! Practically every type of pasta can be found practically everywhere, EXCEPT LINGUINE ! :-(

indosungod said...

Looks lovely. Pasta is an acquired taste for me I have never tried cooking with artichokes if the Artichoke Pasta sauce is counted out. Will look for artichokes spread.

M'nMs said...

this one is for jag incase he visits again.. you can find linguine in London at the bigger tescos. It is usually 'Seeds of the Earth' brand.
Love linguine and always make sure I stock up from there. Semi-homemade is the way to go after a long day!

Thistlemoon said...

Just wanted to welcome you to The Foodie Blogroll!

urban vegan said...

Looks very yummy--and easy for summer.

Raghu Ram Prasad said...

hi poonam, good recipe with good taste..good look also....

Poonam said...

Hi Everybody, Thanks for stopping by and writing your thoughts!....Yes, artichokes are very tasty, especially with pasta! Hope you all enjoyed the recipe!

marriedtoadesi.com said...

This sounds awesome. I am going to try it out.

I love artichokes, and buy the frozen variety from Trader Joe's. Do you use the fresh ones?

Kanchana

Jag said...

Thanks M&Ms, I got the message, will visit a BIG Tesco very soon!

Jag said...

Update for M&Ms: I just wanted to let you know that I found some Linuine! Amazingly at my local Morrisons! I was going to make a trip to Tesco today but went to Morrisons because I needed a nine-volt battery in a hurry to replace my bleeping smoke alarm and whilst I was there I found some hidden away in the pasta shelves! That made my day! Italian import too - even better!

Click here to see the picture of it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/route79/1016459087/

Seafood linguine tonight for me then!

Best regards - Jag @ Route 79

Padma said...

That really is mouthwatering pasta dish with linguine in basil-tomato sauce and with artichokes...great comfy food dear...

Marilyn Merlot said...

Hi, I was just curious..what kind of olives did you use?

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