Pasta with Tomato and Leek Sauce
I had some random leftover food items in my kitchen today, so I decided to make up my own recipe. I had one leek, not quite a pint of cherry tomatoes, one small tomato, some kalamata olives, and some white wine that I was trying not to drink because I have been wearing the same size of jeans for a decade and they fit last spring but now it is fall and they don't fit anymore, so I've been cutting back on sugar and booze.
I did a Google search on these ingredients and came up with a Washington Post recipe for "Tomato and Leek Sauce," which I modified as below:
Pasta with Tomato and Leek Sauce
SERVINGS: 4 - 6
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 thinly sliced, cleaned leek (white and light-green parts)
1/2 cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs thyme
1 pound coarsely chopped tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes
Generous sprinkle of black pepper
8 ounces any shape of pasta
Grated parmigiano reggiano cheese (omit if you want a vegan dish)
Up to 3/4 cup vegetable stock
1/3 cup dry white wine
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the leeks, garlic and thyme. Stir to coat, and reduce the heat to low; cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender but not browned, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomatoes plus their juices, olives, and wine, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed. The mixture will thicken and begin to look like a chunky sauce. If your tomatoes weren't very juicy, add in the vegetable stock as needed to keep the mixture saucy. Stir and/or mash as needed.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
Discard the thyme sprigs. Serve the sauce over the pasta, garnished with the cheese.
And now I get the fun of critiquing my own recipe! I think the biggest takeaway was that my leek was enormous, and the whole dish was very leeky. My onion-shy back-up dancers were not delighted with that. Even if I'd had a smaller leek, it would have been leeky. I mean, it is a leek dish. I think my family is not the right candidate for leek dishes.
That said, it turned out how I wanted, and it was easy. If you don't use the cheese, it's also vegan - an earth-friendly bonus.
I served it with corn, because these days I serve everything with corn. How do you eat corn? I eat it from right to left, for reasons that are obscure even to me, but my backup dancers both eat in a circular way.
Have you heard about McDonald's trying out the Beyond Burger? This rapid adoption of plant-based options by fast food chains is thrilling! (Admittedly I'm not wild about the Beyond Burger; I find the Impossible Burger far superior.) Here's an interesting video of the Beyond Burger CEO making the argument that meat is simply a collection of nutritional components, whether it comes from an animal or not, and therefore his products *are* meat:
https://www.cnn.com/videos/
My own perspective is that I don't care what you call it; I just want tasty, environmentally friendly alternatives to animal products.
I did a Google search on these ingredients and came up with a Washington Post recipe for "Tomato and Leek Sauce," which I modified as below:
Pasta with Tomato and Leek Sauce
SERVINGS: 4 - 6
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 thinly sliced, cleaned leek (white and light-green parts)
1/2 cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs thyme
1 pound coarsely chopped tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes
Generous sprinkle of black pepper
8 ounces any shape of pasta
Grated parmigiano reggiano cheese (omit if you want a vegan dish)
Up to 3/4 cup vegetable stock
1/3 cup dry white wine
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the leeks, garlic and thyme. Stir to coat, and reduce the heat to low; cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender but not browned, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomatoes plus their juices, olives, and wine, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed. The mixture will thicken and begin to look like a chunky sauce. If your tomatoes weren't very juicy, add in the vegetable stock as needed to keep the mixture saucy. Stir and/or mash as needed.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
Discard the thyme sprigs. Serve the sauce over the pasta, garnished with the cheese.
 |
| Garlic, thyme, and about a truckload of leeks |
 |
| After it had cooked for a bit |
And now I get the fun of critiquing my own recipe! I think the biggest takeaway was that my leek was enormous, and the whole dish was very leeky. My onion-shy back-up dancers were not delighted with that. Even if I'd had a smaller leek, it would have been leeky. I mean, it is a leek dish. I think my family is not the right candidate for leek dishes.
That said, it turned out how I wanted, and it was easy. If you don't use the cheese, it's also vegan - an earth-friendly bonus.
I served it with corn, because these days I serve everything with corn. How do you eat corn? I eat it from right to left, for reasons that are obscure even to me, but my backup dancers both eat in a circular way.
 |
| Mine |
 |
| Emma's |
Have you heard about McDonald's trying out the Beyond Burger? This rapid adoption of plant-based options by fast food chains is thrilling! (Admittedly I'm not wild about the Beyond Burger; I find the Impossible Burger far superior.) Here's an interesting video of the Beyond Burger CEO making the argument that meat is simply a collection of nutritional components, whether it comes from an animal or not, and therefore his products *are* meat:
https://www.cnn.com/videos/
My own perspective is that I don't care what you call it; I just want tasty, environmentally friendly alternatives to animal products.
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