Pasta with bacon, onion and... fresh artichokes

This sounds very different but good, I've never even come close to thinking of putting bacon in pasta, I can't really imagine how it would taste, the combination of everything anyway.

Thanks for the recipe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shnooky 

This sounds very different but good, I've never even come close to thinking of putting bacon in pasta, I can't really imagine how it would taste, the combination of everything anyway.

Thanks for the recipe.

People have been putting some form of bacon in their pasta for ages.  Italians use pancetta which is like cured bacon but not smoked.  Personally I'm not a fan of pancetta and so I use good old american smoky bacon for anything that calls for pancetta.  It's used in carbonaras, you can even put bacon in your mac n' cheese to jazz it up. 

I was going to make artichoke paella with chicken tonight.  Maybe I'll use bacon or prosciutto (which I can get more cheaply and conveniently than Spanish ham) instead. 

Artichoke takes to garlic very well, and I'm more likely go that way than using lots of onions.   

Artichokes are a tough pairing.  There's a flavor component in there which makes a lot of wines -- especially whites -- taste overly sweet, almost as though they were madeirized.

BDL

Try using Guanciale if you can get it.  Hog jowl cured like pancetta - not smoked.  Used for pasta all'Amatriciana.  Really great stuff.

Hmmm.  I say hmmm, and hmmm again.  Good thought.  Let's run the numbers. 

Claro's has guanciale, but Claro's is almost ten minutes away and I don't need anything else they sell -- at least not today.  Tropicana, which has decent domestic "prosciutto," is about two minutes away and also has good produce -- including chokes.  It's not the deli Claro's is by any means, but Tropicana does have good, cheap Manchego, fresh batards, and a great selection of olives.  In other words, everything I need for tonight. 

Guanciale, for all it's fatty goodness, doesn't currently reside in either of our refrigerators; but one of them does have a couple of "bacon of the month" offerings inside.

Since the intended dish is paella con alcachofa, and I'm both enough of a Spanish food traditionalist and so lazy that schlepping an inch out of my way for anything non-Spanish is unlikely. 

If I had guanciale, I'd use it.  But for today, it's a good choice for something else some other time.

BDL

Ahhh.  A man with two refrigerators.  I salute you!

Sounds great.  Might be worth a trip to the nearest Mexican grocer.   Around here, even pancetta made in Germany (cheaper than Italian) is too expensive, IMO.   (The German stuff is pretty good, though.)

Can anyone recommend a good brand of that Chorizo?  The closest grocery to me sells some, but it seems way too greasy to me, and kind of bland. Looking for a better brand.  

I LOVE artichokes, but shy away from them because there is entirely too much waste to them, IMO.  But if you say there is less waste to the smaller ones, I'll look for those and try them.   All our grocers sell artichokes, but they all seem to be very large to me. 

D

Since you usually pay for artichokes by the piece, there's no waste in the financial sense.  Think of it as only buying the part you use, and think of the store as kindly including the trim as an extra special bonus.

You eat and trim the same respective parts of a baby artichoke as you do a mature one (alright already, a mature artichoke's stem requires more peeling).  The idea that there's less waste to a baby artichoke is a bit deceptive.  You still have to trim the leaf tips, and take the choke; and you still can't eat the leaf mass, but only the base.

You may want to look into frozen artichoke bottoms and/or frozen hearts.  They come trimmed and choked, requiring only a little extra clean up on your part, and there's very little waste.  They also tend to be less expensive, and -- let's face it --  good, fresh artichokes aren't that easy to find outside of California most of the year. 

BDL

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyGal 

Sounds great.  Might be worth a trip to the nearest Mexican grocer.   Around here, even pancetta made in Germany (cheaper than Italian) is too expensive, IMO.   (The German stuff is pretty good, though.)

 

Can anyone recommend a good brand of that Chorizo?  The closest grocery to me sells some, but it seems way too greasy to me, and kind of bland. Looking for a better brand.  

 

I LOVE artichokes, but shy away from them because there is entirely too much waste to them, IMO.  But if you say there is less waste to the smaller ones, I'll look for those and try them.   All our grocers sell artichokes, but they all seem to be very large to me. 

 

D

Spanish or Mexican Chorizo?  They are different.  In my experience, Spanish is less greasy.

BDL.

I have gone to using the frozen Arts. all the time because of labor, time and consistancy issues . I find they are tasty and not mushy for a frozen product. They come in a 2 Pound plastic pouch I.Q.F so I can take out what I want. I am not to big into frozen veges, but these I like. You made a , good suggestion to all.

I will look for Spanish chorizo, then.   I'm sure the local grocer sells Mexican type as there are all sorts of Mexican items in the store.  Stuff that I have no idea what you do with/to it to make it edible.

BDL, thx for the tip about frozen artichokes!  I usually just skip the frozen food dep't for everything except peas.  I happen to like the tougher texture of frozen peas, and dislike canned ones.  Fresh are best, but we only get those for a couple of weeks a year.   I will look for frozen Artichoke hearts.

DD

Spanish style chorizo is cured, air-dried and firm.  Mexican style chorizo is raw.  You can tell which is which by feeling the package.  Mexican chorizo is soft, like raw Italian sausage, Spanish chorizo is more like a soft pepperoni.  Spanish style is seasoned with more (and better) paprika than other chillies, Mexican style more other chillies than paprika.

They're each made with more or less fat, depending on who makes them and for what purpose.  You can use Mexican style chorizo if you like, but you must pre-cook if for awhile (longer than you would Spanish), and it will break up into crumbles like browned hamburger.  

If either style of Chorizo is too greasy for you, pour off some of the grease.  By the way, a good part of the reason for using chorizo is to use the flavored fat for any other browning, sweating the aromatics and so forth. 

In many ways, the closest US supermarket equivalent to Spanish chorizo is pepperoni.  I wouldn't say you could swap with impunity, but there you go.  If the choice for this dish is between Mexican style chorizo and supermarket pepperoni, go with the Mexican. 

You'll need to prepare Mexican chorizo before moving on to the rest of the recipe.  Take it out of the casing, and cook it in a pan at medium low, breaking up the sausage with a fork as you cook it.  Cook until nearly all the fat has rendered (about 10 minutes), reserve the meat and as much rendered fat as you think appropriate,  and discard the remaining fat.  You'll lose the Spanish chorizo's chunky texture, but make up for it in flavor.  

Pepperoni requires some pre-cooking as well, but in enough oil to satisfy the requirements of the ultimate dish -- because pepperoni won't give up much fat on its own, but will flavor the oil to some extent.  The texture will not only be firmer than Mexican chorizo, but than most Spanish styles as well; and will probably be end up quite chewy. 

BDL