Minty Pesto Pasta with Artichokes

I have a cat story.  Last week, I was home sick lying on the couch with my kitty Max.  We were watching an episode of Rachel Ray and she was cooking this chicken with pasta meal.  I was kind of dosing in and out, but I noticed Max was watching very intently.  He wouldn't take his eyes off the TV, even when I waved my hand in front of his face (yep, visualize).  I laughed and he watched.  Then a commercial came on and he glanced away and looked over at me.  When Rachel’s voice came back on the TV, he quickly stared up at the screen again!  It was so funny.  He watched the whole episode!  Since I didn't want to disturb his TV watching, I kept the show on and decided to recreate what I learned, in a way. 

Rachel made this to go with Chicken; I just made it as a vegetarian pasta dish.  I was kind of weary about using mint in a pesto, and I probably would have bought basil at the store anyway, but since we already had mint in the fridge, I decided to give it a try.  Man this pesto was delicious! There is a subtle hint of mint flavor, but it’s not over powering.  It reminded me of Greek flavors so I think next time I make this, I might add some kalamata olives too!  So much flavor.  Enjoy!

Minty Pesto Pasta with Artichokes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

For the pesto:

1 pkg small baby spinach

1/4 cup mint leaves

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup toasted almonds

1/4 cup olive oil

1 can of artichoke hearts (not marinated in anything)

1 red bell pepper, roasted and sliced

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 pkg linguine noodles

1 cup starchy pasta water

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add noodles.

In a large saute pan, add the artichokes and cook until liquids are released and they start to brown, about 10 minutes.  Add the roasted red pepper.  

Meanwhile, to make the pesto, combine spinach, mint, garlic, and almonds in a food processor, slowly drizzle the olive oil in.  Pour pesto into the saute pan with artichokes.  Turn heat off and let the pesto simmer for about a minute just so the garlic releases its flavors.  Transfer the noodles to the saute pan with the sauce and toss. Slowly add starchy pasta water to help coat the pasta. 

Pour pasta into serving dishes and grate Parmesan cheese over the top.