Artichokes Hearts and Pimento Olives Rotini Pasta.

At first it seemed like an approachable vegetable with a pretty flowery structure,tempting me to buy it fresh rather than canned.Following the simple steps as this page,I started to cut this unusual vegetable hoping I'll be able to carve a fresh artichoke heart.But my amateur skill in cutting this vegetable was not sufficient to perfectly carve the artichoke hearts.So much for my experiments I ended up wasting the artichoke.

Buying the canned artichokes was a big time saver for this recipe although I understand canned artichokes doesn't have the same nutritional value as the fresh ones.But I did save this video for my next cook-up with fresh artichokes come this spring(about 4 weeks away),the best season for artichokes.


The buttery mild flavor of artichokes complements well with the strong flavor of green olives.Or using green olives stuffed cherry peppers(pimento)also lightens the bitterness in green olives.Whole grain rotini pasta was just the right kind of pasta to go with in this all Vegan recipe,which I'm sending to the Vegan Italian Food event,hosted by Vaishali of Holy Cow!.And also to Presto Pasta Nights,host this week is Wiffy of Noob Cook.

Ingredients
1 pound Whole grain Rotini pasta.
1 can(14 ounce) artichokes hearts,drained
2 big plum red tomatoes,finely chopped
1 small onion ,finely chopped
1/2 cup pitted green olives or pimento olives
2 big cloves garlic,finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt(less cause I'm using both canned olives and artichokes which already have good amount of sodium)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Method
Cook the rotini pasta until al-dente as per the package directions .Drain.
In mean time heat oil in sauce pan on medium heat,add the garlic and saute for few seconds until aromatic then add the tomatoes,cover and cook until tender about 10 minutes,stir occasionally.When tomatoes are tender stir in the dried basil,artichoke hearts, pepper and salt.let flavors infuse,allow to cook for another 5 minutes.Then combine the mixture with cooked pasta and olives.Serve warm.


In Health News
For an important update in BMI guidelines for South Asians,please read the Dietitian Sweta's post on her blog Bonne Nutrition.