This week was one of re-using leftovers and dishes inspiring new dishes. It all started with a delicious Fennel, Leek & Red Beet Salad. With some leeks leftover from this, I decided to buy some artichoke hearts and feta which I successfully made a great artichoke dip with- one that rivals the traditional mayo-tastic party food in both taste and health factor. With the tasty flavors in this dish lingering in my mind, I decided to use the very same ingredients the following night, this time incorporating pasta and lemon. The result was a new favorite that got the ol’ roommate stamp of “mmm mmm good” approval. It’s always fun coming up with new ideas and flavor combinations, but sometimes it’s even more satisfying to develop creative dishes with the good food you already have laying around your kitchen. Here’s how I made this…

1 box lin­guine (I used Quinoa Linguine)
1/4 cup Extra vir­gin olive oil (enough to coat small pan)
juice of 2 lemons
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 can artichoke hearts – chopped
1 leek – chopped finely (white and light green parts only)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat and add leeks. Stir, cover and let cook, tossing occasionally. While leeks are cooking, bring pot of water and about 1 tbsp of olive oil to boil, add linguine and cook for about 9 minutes (or follow instructions on package). After about 10 minutes, add artichokes and juice of one lemon and lemon zest to pan with leeks. Let cook for another 5 minutes or until leeks are soft. Drain pasta, pour back into pot and add the cooked leeks and artichokes. Mix together- add olive oil and lemon as needed/ to taste. Stir in crumbled feta, mix in salt and pepper to taste and serve (note: feta is quite salty, so I found this dish did not really need any added salt).