PASTA AL FORNO WITH ARTICHOKES AND MUSHROOMS

I came across a magazine recipe for pasta al forno with asparagus but it is late for asparagus in Sicily. So I decided to adapt the recipe to what was available, namely beautiful artichokes and boletus mushrooms:

Cook 400 gr rigatoni according to the instructions on the pack.   Meanwhile, prepare 6 artichokes for cooking. To do this, follow the instructions of a good cook like Marcella Hazan and be ruthless! Put the dechoked vegetables into water to which you have added a little lemon juice as you finish them. Chop the mushrooms roughly.  Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot.  In a wide pan, heat 2 tablesp olive oil and add a crushed garlic glove and some chopped parsley to it.  Dry the artichokes with kitchen paper, cut each into 4 and chuck them, with the mushrooms, into the pan. Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes and season them. They should absorb the oil. When they are tender, lift them out of the pan and add them to the pasta. Now gently heat 800 ml bechamel - you can buy this ready-prepared in Italy.  Stir it all the time and do not let it boil. Add a little nutmeg and the grated zest of a lemon to it. Add the bechamel to the pasta and vegetables and mix very well. Now lightly oil a large baking dish and spoon about half the pasta mixture into it. Add a generous layer of freshly grated Grana Padano cheese, then add the rest of the pasta mixture. Finish with another layer of "Grana". Put it all in the oven at 200 C for 30 mins.

Above:  assembling the dish, the finished dish,  and the dish after a portion has been cut and served.

These quantities will serve 6 generously.

It occurs to me that you could make a similar dish using mushrooms and peas. In this case, boil the peas till just tender and fry only the mushrooms before assembling the dish.

Buon appetito!