Artichoke Pesto Pasta

So I am really getting anxious for winter to be a thing of the past and I was craving something kind of springy and decided to try a pesto of some sort. I looked online at some recipes and got the idea to use artichokes as a pesto and I thought I'd try it. This turned out pretty stinkin awesome!


1lb pasta. Penne or ziti or anything
1 or 2 15oz cans of artichoke hearts in water
1 can of black olives
1 can of diced tomatoes or 2 or 3 diced fresh romas
1/3 cup of pecans or walnuts
1/2 lemon juice
1/4 olive oil
1/4 nutritional yeast (optional)
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
handful of fresh basil (or 1 package you get at the store)
salt and pepper



Boil the pasta as you normally would.

Drain 1 can of artichokes and put in blender or food processor. I used a blender and it worked fine. Put lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, basil and pecans in the blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper as needed

Drain the noodles and put back into the pot you boiled them it. Stir in DRAINED diced tomatoes, sliced olives and chopped artichokes from can number 2. Stir and reheat until heated throughout. Thats all you do!

Now you dont have to add the 2nd can of artichokes. I thought it worked well. Also, make sure you drain the diced tomatoes. You just want the chunks, not all the juice. You could also add capers or sauted mushrooms and zuchinni.