Spaghetti with Artichokes and Pancetta

Last Monday, I got home from work all ready to make myself a huge serving of spinach and artichoke dip. However, I had in hand the April issue of Food and Wine Magazine and made an uncharacteristically spur of the moment decision to make the cover recipe of Spaghetti with artichokes and pancetta. While my final product did not look as fancy as the cover of the magazine (I apologize for the small picture), I will say that taste wise, I was close?

Ingredients:
1 lemon halved
8 baby artichokes (about 1 lb) - I used canned artichokes instead b/c that was what I had on hand
1/4 cup EVOO
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
one 2 ounce slice of pancetta cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb spaghetti
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:
Note: If, like me, you are using canned artichokes, completely skip step 1.

1. Fill a large bowl with water. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon halves, then add the lemon halves to the water. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, peel off the dark green outer leaves. Cut off the top fourth of the artichoke; peel and trim the stem. Slice the artichoke lengthwise 1/8 inch thick and drop into the lemon water. Repeat with the remaining artichokes.

2. In a saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic and pancetta and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain the artichokes; discard the lemon. Add the artichokes to the saucepan, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add the white wine, cover and simmer over moderately low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water to the artichokes and toss over moderate heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the 1/4 cup of cheese and season with salt and pepper. Serve the pasta, passing more grated cheese at the table.

Recipe from Mario Batali/ Food and Wine magazine April 2010