Cuori di Carciofo Pasta Mostarda Salsa (Artichoke Heart Pasta with Mustard Sauce)

I admit I've never had Artichoke hearts! Shocked? Please don't be. I love cooking but I don't consider myself a foodie since I cringe at the thought of certain foods. Green gets me, especially when it's got the name of a bodily organ in the title of it! However, I must credit Alton Brown for inspiring this dish. I was watching a late night episode of Good Eats where Alton showed all the great things you could do with Artichokes. Mind you throughout the entire episode I'm thinking, "There's no way I'm going to all that trouble to get to the 'good' part of the Artichoke just to see if I'm going to like it!", when he proclaimed jarred Artichoke hearts are just as good as fresh. PLUS they are easier for the home cook since all the prep work has been done! YES! I would be bold and adventurous enough to try this!

I knew could NEVER tell the family I was feeding them Artichoke HEARTS! The hubster would be fine with it. After all, he's a grown up and is happy to eat anything he doesn't have to make himself! ;D The 3 year old won't know the difference but the 9 year old? That's gonna be a challenge!

I decided to keep it on the down-low from everyone just in case news of my secret ingredient "leaked" to my oldest son.

My mission is set: I had to create a dish where I could feature the ingredient so the flavor of the Artichoke heart came through while at the same time camouflaging it so the 9 year old boy's selectively observant eye won't disgustingly ask "What's THAAAAT?" Call it mother's intuition but I know when I tell him "It's just an Artichoke hear sweetie!", he'll recoil like I just placed an actual human heart on his plate! Covert was the way to go with this ingredient.

History told me, the best way to get my sometimes finiky 9 year old boy to eat certain foods is to mix it into a pasta dish. The light bulb went off! I had several fresh ingredients in the fridge that would be perfect for a pasta dish. The result? Artichoke Heart Pasta with Mustard Sauce or Cuori di Carciofo Pasta Mostarda Salsa if you want to fancy it up with some Italian speak!

The reviews were fantastic. The entire family loved it! The 9 year old even did ask what was in the pasta dish after he had eaten a 2nd helping. I was shocked at his response: He hugged me and said, "I love all your cooking mom!" That just made my heart melt!

Add this recipe to your family's dinner menu and hopefully they will love it too!

Ingredients

small jar artichoke hearts, with juice
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
4 TB spicy brown mustard
2 TB ground dry basil
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 c Colby jack cheese, shredded
4 TB milk or cream
1 LB whole grain pene pasta

Directions

Cook pasta al dente, approximately 6 minutes.

While pasta is cooking, saute all vegetables over medium high heat in the oil the artichoke hearts are packaged in. Add basil, salt and pepper to taste.

When vegetables are translucent, add mustard and milk stirring until combined.

Drain pasta and add to mustard sauce.

Fold in cheeses until melted and thoroughly combined. Garnish with freshly chopped chives.

Enjoy!

Artichoke image courtesy of Do You Have Soul? That All Depends blog.

Happily submitted to The Grocery Cart Challenge and Fight Back Friday!