Artichoke Pasta Bake

5 from 2 votes

This artichoke pasta-bake is a creamy and simple Italian recipe that is perfect for those early spring days, when the sun is shining but the air is still cold outside. I make this recipe 100% plant-based adding potatoes and peas to the artichokes, and then mixing the pasta with vegan white sauce, parmesan and ricotta.

Prep Time45 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time1 hr 5 mins

Course: First Course, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Plant-Based, Vegan

Servings: people

Calories: 640kcal

Author: Nico

Ingredients

400 g pasta rigatoni

For the béchamel sauce

500 g soy milk unsweetened
40 g olive oil
40 g all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
⅓ tsp nutmeg

For the ricotta

1 liter soy milk unsweetened
½ lemon juice
½ tsp salt

For the parmesan

50 g almonds peeled
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp nutritional yeast

For the pasta sauce

4 artichokes
200 g potatoes
150 g green peas
⅓ cup dry white wine optional
1 clove garlic
4 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
1 handful parsley
salt and pepper

Instructions

For the parmesan

Preheat the oven to 180C / 356F. Roast the almonds in the oven for 7 minutes. Let cool down for 10 minutes.
Add almonds to a food processor and pulse into a coarse almond flour. While blending add nutritional yeast, soy sauce, and sea salt. Keep blending till you reach a consistency that is similar to grated parmesan.
Taste it and adjust for salt. You might add more soy sauce or salt based on your taste. Let dry on a tray for about 30 minutes before use.
TIP: do NOT over-blend the almonds or else they'll turn into almond butter.

For the béchamel

In a small pot, warm up the plant milk with some grated nutmeg and a pinch of salt.
In another pot, warm up the olive oil, add the flour, whisk and cook for about 2 minutes or until the mix starts to bubble - this is called roux.
Add hot milk to the roux and keep stirring with a whisk on medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce becomes creamy. Add salt and nutmeg to taste.

For the ricotta

In a pot, warm up the soy milk up to almost boiling temperature, then place it into a large glass, wooden, or ceramic bowl.
TIP: don't use a metal bowl as it might interfere with the curdling of the milk.
Add the apple cider vinegar (or the lemon juice) and stir with a wooden spoon for 1 minute. Then set aside for 10 minute. The milk should curdle.
TIP: don't use a metal spoon as it might interfere with the curdling of the milk.
In the meantime, put a sieve over a large bowl, then cover it with a piece of cheesecloth, or a clean kitchen cloth.TIP: make sure the cloth is white and it doesn't smell like washing detergent.
TIP: make sure the sieve doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl, as we need space for liquid to drain the ricotta.
After the 10 minutes, pour the curdled soy milk into the sieve, cover it, and let drain for at least 1.5 hours, but better if overnight in the fridge.
TIP: place a smaller empty bowl on top of the curdle milk to add some weight and get a better drained, firmer ricotta.
Once the milk has drained, your ricotta is ready to be used

For the pasta sauce

Peel the potatoes, cut them into small dice and boil them in salted boiling water for a few minutes.
Clean the artichokes. 1) cut off half of their stem and peel it. 2) remove the woody outer leaves. 3) cut off the top of the remaining leaves - about ⅓ of the head of the artichoke.
TIP: put the clean artichokes in a bowl filled with cold water with some lemon juice in it to prevent them from browning.
Cut each artichoke in 4, then with a paring knife remove the furry part inside of the artichoke. Now slice them thin.
In a pan, warm up some olive oil and a crushed clove of garlic, then add the artichokes, cook for 5 minutes then add ½ glass of white wine to deglaze the pan.
When the wine has evaporated add the frozen peas, salt, pepper, ½ cup of water and cook the sauce for about 15 minutes or until the artichokes are soft. Turn off the heat, add some chopped parsley, and set aside.
Boil the pasta only for half of its cooking time. Then drain it and add it to a bowl.
Add ⅔ of the artichoke sauce, the boiled potatoes, ¾ the béchamel, ½ of the ricotta, a handful of vegan parmesan, a pinch of salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, some fresh parsely, a dash of pasta cooking water, and gently mix everything together.
Transfer the mix into a baking tray and add some more artichoke sauce and béchamel on top. Sprinkle with a handful or two of the parmesan, some ricotta and bake in a preheated oven at 200C / 390F for 10 to 15 minutes.
Take out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving with some fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil on top.

Notes

We recommend making the vegan ricotta and the vegan parmesan a day or so in advance.

If you can, use a digital scale for our recipes. This way you'll get the best results.

We use calculateme.com to convert grams to US volume measurements. We believe they have the most accurate conversion algorithm. If must use cups and spoons, then use the "spoon and level" method. That is, spoon the ingredients into the measuring cup, or measuring spoon. Then level the excess with a knife.

Nutrition