Spring Pasta with Artichokes, Mushrooms and Peas

This recipe hails from The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison. It's kind of an old-school vegetarian cookbook, some of the recipes are fussy, but more often than not, you get a delicious result. I think if I were to make this recipe again, I'd just use frozen artichoke hearts, rather than trying (and not terribly successfully) trimming the globes down to hearts quickly enough before they turn brown.

Also, I made my own pasta with herbs. While, there really isn't a replacement for fresh pasta, it is a step that could be skipped. I won't go into the details of pasta making here... I'll assume if you're ambitious enough to make pasta you have a recipe.



Spring Pasta with Artichokes, Mushrooms and Peas

Ingredients:

8 oz of fettuccine or linguine
1 lemon
2 large artichokes (or use a package of frozen artichokes)
5 T. butter, unsalted
3 T olive oil
4 shallots, sliced (about 2/3 c.)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
6-8 oz. mushrooms cut into chunks (I used baby bellas)
2 stalks of celery, cut into small squares
1 10-oz. pkg frozen petit peas
1 T parsley, chopped
2 tsp. tarragon, chopped
parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Bring a large pot of water for the pasta to boil.

Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a bowl w/ about 2 c. of cold water. Trim the artichokes.. see this video on the how to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV7iU0NoYSs just be sure to dip in the lemon water as you go, otherwise you'll end up with a brown mess. Dice the heart cubes and keep in the lemon water.

In a large, wide skillet, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, and drained artichokes and stew them together for 1 minute.

Add one cup of the water from the pasta pot, cover and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Raise the heat and add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the celery and the peas and more water (if the first cup has cooked off). Lower the heat again, cover and cook gently for 3-4 minutes or until mushrooms are done.

Cook the pasta, scoop it out when it's done and add to the skillet. Season with the fresh herbs. Toss with tongs to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with Parmesan.