**4. Conclusions**

The obtained results show that inulin from globe artichoke represents a promising functional ingredient in terms of technological and nutritional properties. As a matter of fact, adding inulin determined changes in the structure of raw and cooked pasta, which results more compact and firmer than control. The addition of inulin resulted in increasing the optimal cooking time, reducing the swelling index and increasing cooking loss (the latter due to inulin leaching in the cooking water). In terms of color, inulin-enriched samples (P5, P10, and P15) showed lower L\* and b\* and higher a\* than control. The sensory properties did not substantially change compared to control. From the nutritional perspective, the ability of inulin to slow down the release of glucose in the blood was assessed, showing that a significant reduction of HI and pGI occurred in inulin-enriched pasta compared to control. Moreover, the in vitro prebiotic assay demonstrated that FMP10 and FMP15, containing 2 g/L and 3 g/L of inulin, respectively, significantly increased the cell density of prebiotics able to inhibit the *E. coli* growth. Therefore, the promising results obtained highlight the possibility to upcycle, in a circular perspective, the artichoke roots from agricultural waste to a valuable food ingredient that is useful for preparing high-added-value food products that could satisfy the increasing demand of consumers for more sustainable and functional foods.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, G.D. and A.P.; methodology, G.D., G.d.G., G.R.C., M.V., B.I. and A.P.; formal analysis, G.d.G., G.R.C., M.V., I.A. and G.d.P.; writing—original draft preparation, G.D., G.d.G., G.R.C., M.V. and B.I.; writing—review and editing, G.D., G.d.G., G.R.C. and A.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca-Programmi di Ricerca 2017 (2017JTNK78) "GOOD-BY-WASTE. Obtain GOOD products-exploit BY-products-reduce WASTE" (CUP H98D19000940006).

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Ethical review and approval were waived for this study because data were completely anonymous, with no personal information being collected, and were not considered to be sensitive in nature.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data will be available on request.

**Acknowledgments:** This work was supported by POR Puglia 2014/2020-Asse X-Azione 10.4 Research for Innovation- REFIN code n. E65BAEEE.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
