Mushroom Marsala with Artichokes and Orecchiette

I came across this recipe a few weeks ago and since I had some Marsala wine left over from another recipe, I decided to make it. The recipe calls for thimble pasta (which is really just any small type of pasta). I chose to go with Orecchiette. In Italian, "ear" is orecchio, so this basically translates as "little ears". I guess my Italian in college comes in handy sometimes.

So, let's see what you need to create this simple, easy meal!!!

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 pound mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 3/4 teaspoon
• 1 cup dry Marsala wine
• 1 pound thimble pasta
• 1 can of artichokes, liquid drained
  
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Let's cook.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, until all the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms have cooked down, about 10 minutes. You want to get your mushrooms tender. Add the Marsala and continue cooking until almost all the wine has evaporated, about 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Stir in remaining salt. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain pasta and add it into the mushrooms, Marsala, and onions. Or you can use a Spider strainer like this one that I got for Christmas this year!

Add the artichoke hearts, Parmesan, and cream and cook until the artichokes are heated through, about 5 minutes or so. Stir in the parsley and pepper.

Easy, right? Let's take a look.

Simple! Can't ask for anything better for a weeknight dinner! Enjoy and thanks for reading.