Easy Artichoke Sauce for Pasta, Sandwiches and More

Tangy and richly flavored with roasted garlic, this Easy Artichoke Sauce recipe can be used on pasta, sandwiches and more for a satisfying meal.

When I woke up yesterday, I looked outside to see delicate snowflakes falling gently from the sky and adding a blanket of pristine white snow to the outdoors. The undisturbed snow looked so peaceful and inviting, like a standing invitation to come play. It was a perfect winter wonderland outside, one that I craved as a child every winter morning.

Live and learn, right?

My first thought when I saw the snow wasn’t about how pretty the scene was or how lovely the flakes were. It had nothing to do with snow days or snowmen or snow angels. I didn’t think about skiing or sledding or any other fun winter pursuit.

No, instead the first thing I thought was “Not. Again.” with an assortment of colorful words dotting the sentiment. I am so sick of snow right now. In fact, winter itself is persona non grata for me at present.

Don’t get me wrong, I love snow. What I don’t love is the fact that I have shoveled and shoveled and shoveled and even sprung for a plow to help when it was too heavy to do ourselves (we have the mother of all driveways). But my too-wide, too-long driveway remains my nemesis this winter. An ice storm last week, followed by up and down temperatures and two (yes, TWO!)  more snow storms has left it a sheet of ice that five bags of salt can’t undo.

And it certainly doesn’t help that the temperature is so low that you could easily store all of the contents of your freezer outside without concern. It’s times like this that rich, delicious food can be a great comfort – a bright spot in an otherwise frozen day.

This Easy Artichoke Sauce? It’s rich, delicious food. Artichoke hearts are whirled together with tangy lemon juice, rich roasted garlic and salt and pepper for a super easy, super flavorful sauce that can be used in so many ways. But don’t be fooled by how simple it is to prepare. This sauce has nuance and elegance that will have you clamoring for more.

It uses frozen artichoke hearts, which have all that great artichoke flavor without the hint of saltiness found in the canned version. If you have to substitute for canned, don’t salt the sauce until after you taste it first. You might not need much — or any — additional salt with canned artichoke hearts.