Pasta con Carciofi

...sounds much better than Artichoke Pasta. And I feel fancier writing it in Italian - win/win! This sauce is surprisingly creamy for basically being made of minced artichokes, and while there is parmesan in the sauce it can definitely be scaled down if you want to keep this light. (I'm always scaling cheese up because I love it so much.) I'm not super into pasta, so it really means something when I say I love this. As Court would say, it's pastalicious!

Pasta with Artichokes:
4 artichoke hearts (~1/2 can)
20 g pancetta or bacon, cubed
1/2 small onion, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt & pepper
25 g fresh parmesan, grated
150 g pasta

Put a large pot of water with salt on the stove to boil. While waiting for that, either mince 3 of the artichokes very finely or pop them in the food processor with some olive oil - this will form the base of the sauce. Slice the remaining artichoke heart. In a fry pan over medium heat, warm some olive oil and cook the onion and pancetta for around 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the garlic, artichokes, and salt & pepper and lower the heat. While the pasta is cooking just keep the sauce warm, adding some of the boiling pasta water as needed to keep the sauce from thickening up too much. You can also toss in the parmesan at this point. As soon as the pasta is al dente, drain and add to the fry pan to coat in the sauce. Quickly plate & serve immediately. This serves 2 very generously, or 4 as a starter or side.