Spaghetti carciofi e scampi from the Sant’Elia markets

This morning Fed and I went to the Sant’Elia markets in Cagliari, which are on the sea front that faces the port. At the moment it is full of winter goodies including lots of fresh seafood. The seafood is at its best in winter because the waters are cold and clean.

The fisherman we bought the scampi from.

The view of the port from the markets.


Fresh olives and home-made olive oil.


The lovely guys we bought our bread from.

And the guy we bought the carciofi from- he insisted I take a photo of him and his beautiful artichokes!
We picked up some delicious carciofi and scampi and decided to make some pasta for lunch. Here is our recipe:
Spaghetti carciofi e scampi
6 fresh artichokes
18 scampi
1 splash extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 sprinkle chili
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
Salt to taste
80g-100g of pasta per person


While wearing gloves cut the stalk from the top of the artichoke and peel the leaves away, until you have the hearts. Cut them into 8ths and cut out the little furry bit in the center. Place them in a small bowl of sparkling water for later. We put them in sparkling water so they don’t go brown.
Peel the scampi of their shells and place them to the side for later.
Peel and slight crush the garlic, place it in a large pan on the heat, with a splash of olive oil and the chilli, until the garlic is slightly golden. Add the drained artichokes to the pan, and slowly cook on a medium to low heat until they are almost cooked (about 20 minutes).
Put on the water for the pasta to boil, adding a heaped table spoon of salt to the water and when ready, put the pasta in.
At about seven or eight minutes, before the pasta is cooked, add the scampi to the artichokes, oil and garlic and cook gently until the pasta is just before al dente.
Drain the pasta and add it to the artichokes and scampi and stir through. Add a sprinkle of parsley and a little more extra virgin olive oil, then serve.



Buon appetito!
Tell us what you think of recipe…. we would love to hear from you!
j-b x