Artichoke Triple Play Pasta

What to call this delicious nearly-no-fat  dish?  I asked for suggestions and this one was the winner.   This pasta combines artichoke hearts (one of my very favourite things on Earth) Jerusalem artichokes, and pasta made with Jerusalem artichoke flour.   Actually, the title is a misnomer since the “Jerusalem Artichoke” is neither from Israel nor an artichoke.  More commonly called sunchokes, sun-roots or topinambours, these are knobby little ginger-looking tubers of a sunflower native to the Americas.   Once a very popular vegetable, Jerusalem artichokes are now less widely known but are available in stores and easy to grow in the garden.
What do they taste like?  Sliced thin or shredded into salads they’re like a cross between water-chestnut, or jicama with a crispy, sweet taste and cooked they’re more potato-like or like a mild rutabaga.  In fact, they’re often recommended for diabetics as a substitute for potatoes since the tuber stores inulin (a complex carbohydrate not to be confused with INSULIN) instead of starch and converts not into glucose, but into fructose in the colon. This makes this sweet starchy delight, low on the glycemic index.  Inulin is also a “pre-biotic” which supports healthy intestinal flora and may help lower cholesterol.  One note of caution though:  go easy on this ingredient if you’re a first time diner, since the carbohydrate in these guys is partly indigestible and causes some people to feel gassy as with beans and cereals.     Unless your diners are all really good campfire buddies. LOL

Ingredients: 

1 Jerusalem Artichoke if larger tuber,  3-4 of the small sized tubers sliced. (you don’t need to peel the sunchokes, simply scrub them with vegetable brush OR peel as you would ginger)
1 can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and sliced or broken apart.
1 package Deboles jerusalem artichoke pasta (fettuccine or spaghetti style)
1/2 veggie bullion cube (or 1/4 cup veggie broth to sauté)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh) 
1/2 roasted red pepper  (or jarred roasted red pepper)
handful roasted garlic cloves*  or 1 clove fresh garlic minced
teaspoon parsley flakes
salt-pepper (to taste)

Sauce:
1 and 1/2 cups   fresh basil
veggie bullion/ veggie broth to dilute to desired consistency
5-8 cloves ROASTED garlic (roast yourself in the oven or buy pre-roasted and peeled cloves) sliced thin.  *Note: only use roasted garlic in this quantity because the roasting makes garlic sweet and mild. *you will use garlic for the saute and for the sauce.  You can use more or less depending on your taste. 


need: Magic Bullet, Food Processor or Blender

Directions: 
While you’re boiling water and cooking pasta,  sauté the slices of Jerusalem Artichoke, artichoke hearts, red pepper, garlic, salt pepper, parsley  and thyme in a little bit of veggie broth.  simmer with lid on until the Jarusalem Artichoke is tender. (You may cook it to your preferred doneness… crispy/crisp-tender or tender but be careful, it can turn mushy if over cooked!)
When pasta is done, according to package instructions, drain pasta

To make the sauce, take the rinsed torn basil, roasted garlic cloves (add the amount of additional garlic you'd like  to taste) and broth and Magic Bullet until smooth (add broth to make it desired thinness) – you don’t need to cook the sauce but you may heat it gently if you want, otherwise, add it directly over your hot pasta
garnish with fresh basil leaves.  I served this dish with steamed green beans