Artichoke sauce, perfect for cold weather

The beauty of Italian cuisine is that it has countless tasty dishes which use only simple ingredients. The most versatile and appreciated dishes certainly include artichoke sauce, a "comfort" sauce that lets you play it safe without sacrificing taste, also giving you a chance to add a touch of your personality to everyday menus.

Artichokes are a low-calorie vegetable very rich in fiber and with a low glycemic count, which is why they’re recommended when dieting. Furthermore, they have digestive and diuretic properties thanks to the presence of potassium and cynarin, the substance that distinguishes artichokes for their slightly bitter taste.

And it is precisely this unmistakable flavor that makes them an ingredient for a tasty, easy to make sauce.

Once you have the artichokes, tomato sauce and the ingredients for the mirepoix you have everything you need to start making the sauce. The recipe's most challenging step is definitely preparing and cleaning the artichokes, which includes removing the tougher outer leaves and the inner choke. This trimming step certainly isn't easy: cleaning artichokes takes a lot of time as well as patience, manual ability and attention. To make sure the dish comes out well, or to be able to make it even when artichokes aren't in season, you can opt to use artichokes in oil, such as our Artichoke Hearts. In fact, even with this trick your sauce will be just as tasty and flavorful.
Make a light mirepoix with a little oil and some chopped onion and parsley. Then add the trimmed artichokes and let them cook for about 15 minutes with the lid on before adding the tomato sauce. After adding a pinch of salt and pepper, let everything simmer for another 15 minutes.

When it comes to cooking meals, an unavoidable variable we all undoubtedly have to face is time, especially when we're caught by sudden cravings for specific tastes and flavors. Let's assume that one evening, on your way home from work, you're in the mood for a nice plate of pasta with artichoke sauce, but unfortunately you don't have the ingredients to make it, nor the time to make it properly.

How can you satisfy your craving? All you really need is a jar of our Pasta Sauce with Artichokes in your pantry, ready to be used! Prepared according to the traditional recipe, our Pasta Sauce with Artichokes is made with care and passion. To the initial mirepoix made with onion and our Extra Virgin Olive Oil, we proceed to carefully mix all the ingredients: tomato pulp, our Artichoke Hearts and Sundried Tomatoes, capers and Genoese P.D.O. basil. The result carefully placed in each jar is a fragrant sauce, soft on the palate and with a harmonious, delicate and sweet taste.

In addition, pasta is just one of the foods, perhaps the most traditional, with which our Pasta Sauce with Artichokes can be paired. In fact, it can be used in a variety of recipes: all you have to do is put your creativity to the test in the kitchen.

From appetizers to first courses to main dishes: pasta sauce with artichokes is your trump card in the kitchen! Here are some recipes for using it in three different courses, even to be served in the same menu if you like.

Bruschetta with pasta sauce with artichokes. Perfect for starting a lunch or dinner with friends, they can be made in no time and guarantee a surprising result. The crunchiness of the toasted bread combines perfectly with the soft consistency of the sauce: a real harmony for the palate.

Chestnut ravioli with pasta sauce with artichokes. This first course is a fall reinterpretation of the classic ravioli. They are made with sheets of pasta made with chestnut flour and 00 flour that envelop a soft filling of ricotta cheese. The sweetness of the dough and the filling of the ravioli can be optimally enhanced by combining them with the Pasta Sauce with Artichokes, which is equally sweet but with a stronger character. In addition, the crunchiness of the artichoke pieces, combined with the soft texture of the filling, will create an interesting play of contrasts on the palate.

And now it's time for the second course. In order to satisfy the tastes and dietary choices of all, vegan or not, here are two alternative ideas for using our Pasta Sauce with Artichokes to make your dishes even more delicious.

Vegan meatballs with Pasta Sauce with Artichokes. To make this delicious dish, suitable for young and old, you only need a few, easily available ingredients. In fact, the meatballs are made with stale bread, previously left to soften in soy milk, to which salt, pepper, garlic, baking powder and a little bit of breadcrumbs are added until you obtain a mixture of the desired consistency. After forming the meatballs, brown them in a pan with a drizzle of our Pure Olive Oil until they are golden brown. Lastly add our Pasta Sauce with Artichokes and continue cooking for a few minutes. Thanks to the tomato and artichoke sauce, your meatballs will be a cut above the rest and become even more delicious.

Cod with pasta sauce with artichokes and potatoes. Cod is well known for its versatility. It can be made simply seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil, au gratin in the oven, breaded, with tomato sauce... Here we propose a reinterpretation of the recipe for Ligurian-style cod where the sauce with olives is replaced by pasta sauce with artichokes. With its delicate flavor and bright red color, the sauce will liven up the flavor of your cod, giving it an extra kick. To make this recipe, simply cook cod fillets with a little oil, a clove of garlic and a few of our Sardines in Olive Oil. After adding and cooking off some white wine, add previously blanched potatoes and our Pasta Sauce with Artichokes. The dish will be ready to serve in no time. We suggest serving it with a few slices of fresh bread, imperative for soaking up all the delicious sauce!

Pasta Sauce with Artichokes is just one of the tomato-based sauces you can find on our website: There's also Arrabbiata sauce, Pasta Sauce with Eggplant, but also the traditional Ligurian Pesto Sauce or the brand new Pistachio Pesto! Visit our website to find out which sauce is best suited to your tastes and needs.