Creamy Potato and Artichoke Pasta

In Veneto, chef Matteo Albani prepared us a contradiction of a pasta dish. It was lush and creamy, yet entirely free of dairy. His secret, we learned, was the humble potato. He boiled it, then pureed it and its starchy cooking water before using it to enrich his sauce. We found that simply mashing the potato had a similar effect, while negating the need to haul out a blender. We experimented with Yukon Golds, but ultimately, a high-starch russet yielded the creamiest sauce. As for artichoke hearts, we tried all the usual prepared suspects: jarred, canned and frozen. When sautéed with cherry tomatoes, garlic and herbs, canned and frozen artichoke hearts became mushy. Jarred won out because they held their shape.