Artichokes have been the death of me since I was a kid. My mom loved making the whole boiled artichoke with breadcrumbs, and I wanted to like it, but it was gross. Artichoke hearts are a different story. These are the artichoke’s most tender interior bits, and even better, it can be combined with parmesan, lemon, and olive oil to make a creamy pesto that you mix with pasta. Pesto pasta has been a thing for a while, but not like this. This pasta brings you the creaminess of an Alfredo sauce with the tanginess of tangy artichoke hearts.

This is a multi-component meal, so take it step by step. Parmesan cream sauce, artichoke pesto, and cooked pasta. Let’s start with the pasta.

Pasta sauces like this can be delicious in a tube-shaped pasta or a cup-shaped pasta because the sauce is thickkkkk. Pick your pasta! I prefer this sauce with long noodles because it just makes for a better mouth feel and chew. Use your favorite. Prep the pasta first and don’t forget to save some cooking water.

Let’s make the pesto now. Tip to making a delicious pesto is pulverization. You need a mortar and pestle, immersion blender, or food processor. Let the equipment do the work to break down the pesto before you add anymore liquid. Pesto should have a thick, paste-like consistency. Adding liquid can throw off the balance of the sauce when it just needs more time to break down the ingredients. Taste for seasoning, say yum, and set it aside. I’m obsessed with this stuff.

Now it’s time to make the most luxurious component, the parmesan cream sauce. This is a process to slowly reduce and thicken the cream. This is our base sauce to coat the noodles and also to incorporate the parmesan cheese. Do NOT salt this until it’s at the point of proper reduction or you will end up with a salt bomb.

Now for the easiest part, putting it ALL together. Dump it all in a bowl and toss together. Don’t forget that reserved pasta water. It will help you toss the pasta easier making the sauce thinner to coat as it continuously thickens and starts sticking to the noodles. Finish with your garnish and get ready for heaven!

I’m so happy with how these came out. It’s a very rich tasting pasta in this parmesan cream sauce, but it is packed with fresh spinach, creamy artichoke hearts, and fresh lemon which makes it a perfect indulgent pasta dinner for a special occasion.