This recipe is from Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking book- It has layers of flavor, subtle texture, and the
smell makes my stomach growl!!!
This was my first attempt at one of her recipes, and I think it turned out great! She makes recipes easy to follow. (I shortened the explanations below) (Contributed by Valerie Spicer)
Ingredients:
3 baby artichokes
2 oz. fresh wild mushrooms, preferably trumpet
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt & freshly ground pepper
2 T finely chopped white onion
2 garlic cloves mashed
2 oz. flavorful cooked ham, cut into 1/2″ dice
3/4 c heavy cream
3/4 milk
1/8 t freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 c plus 2 T freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
4oz dried egg noodles… 1/2 spinach 1/ plain
I used my Clay Coyote Cazuela for this recipe.
I preheated the oven to 400 degrees first.
1. Wash artichokes, trim stems, remove tough outer leaves. Boil in salted water until tender (10 minutes) Immediately drain, cool, and press out excess moisture. Wrap in paper towels and set aside.
2. Coat the bottom of your cazuela with 1 Tbsp Olive Oil and set it over low heat. When oil is warm, add the mushrooms. Cover and let steam 3-4 minutes. Uncover, raise to med. heat and saute until they have expressed all their moisture and begin to caramelize. Transfer them to a side dish, and set cazuela aside.
3. S
lice artichokes lengthwise and lightly salt and pepper
4. Add last Tbsp Olive Oil to cazuela and set over med. heat. Add onion and cook until caramelized (10 min.) Add garlic, ham, artichokes, and mushrooms. Cook 3-5 more minutes or until garlic is toasted.
5. In small saucepan, heat the cream and milk until hot. Season with nutmeg salt and pepper. Pour the seasoned milk and cream into the cazuela and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir in 1/3 c cheese, let stand.
6. Cook pasta until tender in a large pot with salted water. Use one of Clay Coyote’s colanders to drain the pasta. Next add noodles to the cazeula, stir to coat noodles with sauce. Scatter the rest of the cheese on top.
7. Bake on top third of the oven 15-20 min. or until cheese is golden brown.
