A simple pasta dish is one of those things that’s great to have in your repertoire for any given busy night, and this one with artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes uses all pantry ingredients!
It’s super quick to make – you can get it on the table in under 30 minutes – and it’s super delicious. It can easily be made vegetarian with a few omissions and it’s really hearty!
It’s a cool Mediterranean cross between my penne alla vodka recipe and my creamy tomato pasta recipe, and I know you’re going to love it.
How to Make Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Artichokes
The pasta sauce comes together as the pasta cooks, and it’s heavily reliant on the cooking water. So, naturally, the first step is to put the pasta on.
Make sure there is plenty of heavily salted water and cook the pasta for about 2 minutes less than the package suggests.
Either don’t drain the pasta from the water at all and simply lift it from the pot into the pan with the sauce when it’s done, or reserve about half a litre of water before draining off the rest.
Meanwhile, get started on the sauce. Add some chili flakes, a few sliced or roughly chopped cloves of garlic and, optionally, a couple of anchovy fillets to a large skillet. In lieu of olive oil from the bottle, I also like to use the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes.
Set it over medium heat and allow the garlic to gently cook and the anchovy fillets to dissolve.
Once the garlic is soft and beginning to turn golden, add in some chopped sun-dried tomatoes (use oil-packed!) and some marinated artichoke hearts along with some tomato paste.
Cook for a few more minutes, just until the paste darkens and begins to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Then, ladle in a bit of pasta cooking water and stir in some finely grated parmesan cheese – this will help the sauce get a nice, creamy texture.
Once the cheese is emulsified in the sauce, add your cooked pasta and toss to combine. If you’d like, I also recommend adding in a small can of oil-packed tuna.
Top with a bit more parmesan cheese and go ahead and serve immediately!
Sun-Dried Tomato & Artichoke Pasta
Ingredients
- 250 g (½ lb) pasta such as rigatoni or penne
- 5 cloves garlic sliced or roughly chopped
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- 2 anchovy fillets roughly chopped (optional)
- 50 g (½ cup) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes drained & roughly chopped
- 50 g (¼ cup) marinated artichoke hearts drained & roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 50 g (½ cup) parmesan cheese finely grated
- 90 g (3 oz) tinned oil-packed tuna (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than the package suggests. Reserve about 500ml (2 cups) of pasta cooking water before draining.
- While the pasta is cooking, add 2 tbsp of sun-dried tomato oil to a large skillet. Add the garlic, chili flakes and anchovy fillets if using. Set over medium heat and, stirring occasionally, gently cook until the garlic is tender and the anchovies begin to dissolve – about 5 minutes.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, tomato paste, oregano and a generous grind of black pepper. Cook for a minute or two, just until the tomato paste darkens and begins to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Pour in 250ml (1 cup) of pasta cooking water into the pan, stirring to thoroughly combine. Stirring constantly, sprinkle in the parmesan cheese until incorporated and emulsified.
- Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat in the sauce, adding more pasta cooking water where needed to achieve your desired sauce consistency. If using, break up the tuna with a fork and add it to the pasta, stirring to combine. Taste to adjust for seasoning, adding salt and pepper where needed, and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This pasta is so easy to make and so packed with flavour, you wouldn’t believe it comes together so quickly!
Are you looking for a quick weeknight pasta recipe? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
