Pasta salads are one of my favorite types of dishes to experiment with. There’s just so many possibilities! You can switch up the pasta, the veggies and the dressing to create something completely delicious and unique to your taste buds. Try this medicated recipe, featuring a whole wheat spaghetti pasta salad with freshly roasted artichokes, juicy cherry tomatoes, and drizzled with a cannabis-lemon vinaigrette.

Serves 4-6

Here’s What You Need:

Roasted Artichokes Ingredients

3 whole artichokes

6 garlic cloves, peeled

2-3 tablespoons cannabis-infused extra virgin olive oil (for sprinkling)

Heavy duty aluminum foil

Pasta Salad Ingredients

8 oz whole wheat spaghetti noodles

3 tablespoons pine nuts

3 garlic cloves (finely minced)

1 teaspoon cannabis-infused extra virgin olive oil

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup fresh basil (finely chopped)

Lemon-Vinaigrette Ingredients

2 tablespoons cannabis-infused extra virgin olive oil

Juice from 1 large lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Optional garnishes: freshly grated Parmesan cheese

How to Make Artichoke Pasta Salad

Roasted Artichoke Preparation

To begin, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, cut off the top third, as well as the bottom, of each artichoke stem (right at the base), so that each artichoke is able to sit up straight.

Then, place each artichoke on a large square of heavy duty aluminum foil (or a double layer of standard aluminum foil) and stuff 2 garlic cloves into the top of each artichoke.

After, slightly spread the leaves apart with your fingers and drizzle each artichoke with some of the cannabis-infused olive oil, approximately 1 tablespoon per artichoke.

Wrap the aluminum foil up tightly around each artichoke and place each one onto a baking tray.

Place the baking tray into your preheated oven and roast the artichokes until they become nice and soft, roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes. The cook-time will vary depending on your oven, so make sure you keep an eye on them.

Once the artichokes are roasted, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool until you are able to handle them.

Pull each leaf off the artichokes (you can scrape off all the meat of the leaves with your teeth if you like!) until you get to the base. Proceed to pop off the bottom part of the artichoke, and scrape off the furry or fuzzy looking stuff. Once that is scraped off, you are left with the delicious artichoke heart!

Repeat this process with the remaining artichokes until you’ve retrieved all the hearts.

After, thinly slice the hearts, and set them to the side until you’re ready to construct your pasta salad.

Pasta Salad Preparation

To begin, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the whole wheat spaghetti pasta until it reaches al dente perfection, roughly 8-9 minutes.

While the pasta cooks, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Once preheated, pour the pine nuts onto a baking tray and place them into your preheated oven for 5-7 minutes, or until they’re golden brown in color, and fragrant.

Remove the toasted pine nuts from the oven and place them to the side for now.

After, finely mince the 3 cloves of garlic and set it aside.

Next, heat up 1 teaspoon of cannabis-infused olive oil in a small pan on medium-high heat.

Then, add in the finely minced garlic and sauté the garlic until it’s just about golden-brown, roughly 1-2 minutes

When the pasta is cooked, remove the pot from the heat and drain the pasta in a colander.

While the pasta is draining and cooling, slice up the cherry tomatoes, and chop up the fresh basil.

Next, grab a small bowl and combine the ingredients for the cannabis-lemon vinaigrette: 2 tablespoons cannabis-infused olive oil, fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.

Then, grab a large serving bowl and toss together the cooled, cooked whole wheat spaghetti, the thinly sliced roasted artichoke hearts, the oven-roasted pine nuts, and the sauteed minced garlic.

Throw in the halved cherry tomatoes and sliced basil and pour the cannabis-lemon vinaigrette over the entire salad, tossing until everything is fully coated and mixed.

Serve immediately, garnished with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you’d like.

Enjoy!

Check out other posts from Weedist’s Great Edibles Recipes series!