Vegan Creamy Leek Pasta
Published Jan. 27, 2021
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 3medium leeks (about 1 to 1¼ pounds total)
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1pound bucatini, fettuccine or linguine
- 1lemon
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
708 calories; 29 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 97 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 532 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, prepare your leeks: Trim ½ inch off both ends, then cut each leek crosswise, separating the bottom third of the white portion from the top two-thirds of light and dark leek greens. Halve the greens lengthwise, wash them, then set them aside.
- Step 3
Halve your leek whites lengthwise, cut them crosswise into 2-inch segments, then slice those segments thinly lengthwise to create matchsticks. (If you notice any grit in the sliced leek whites, wash them thoroughly, transfer them to a dish towel, squeezing to remove excess moisture, then spread them out to dry.)
- Step 4
In a small, deep saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high and line a baking sheet with paper towels. Working in three to four batches for even cooking, add about ¼ of the white leek strips and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 4 minutes. The key here is to keep residual cooking in mind: Since your delicate leeks will continue cooking after being removed from the hot oil, you want to pull them from the hot oil when about a third of each batch is fully golden, a third is lightly golden and another third is still green. (They won’t cook perfectly evenly; it’s not you, it’s them and the nature of cooking.) Remove them swiftly, using a slotted spoon and tilting the saucepan to transfer the leeks to the paper towel-lined plate. Season to taste with salt. Repeat with the remaining batches. Set the oil aside to cool.
- Step 5
Add the pasta and leek greens to the boiling water, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just shy of al dente, about 8 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water. Using tongs, transfer the leek greens to a blender, then pour the pasta into a colander set in the sink.
- Step 6
Add the reserved leek oil to the leek greens, along with ⅔ cup pasta water and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper, and blend until creamy. Add the sauce to the pot and stir in the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add more pasta water, if desired, to thin the sauce. Divide among plates and sprinkle with frizzled leeks. Grate fresh lemon zest on top, if desired, then squeeze with lemon. Serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
I boiled the weeks first, the transferred them to the blender with the leek water. Next I fried the julienned leeks and put them aside before adding the leek oil to the blende. Finally I boiled fresh pasta in the remaining leek water. This order worked out very well.
How do you separate the leek greens from the pasta? Could you not just cook them first, then puree and keep warm? Also a bit confused about the instruction to cut lengthwise and crosswise (twice). But will give this recipe a go. Sounds yummy. Jamie Oliver does something similar with cauliflower.
Just made this, it is great. One needs to read through the whole recipe first, of course. The reason we put the leek greens in with the pasta is for flavor. We leave them long is so they are easy to fish out and place in a blender or bowl before we drain the pasta. I always use a stick blender as I have a small Swiss kitchen, but it worked fine with the pasta water, flavored oil and cooked leek greens buzzing into a creamy sauce in seconds!
A bit fussy, but it was good nonetheless. Though why do you call for 1 pound of pasta for 4 servings? A serving of paste is 2 ounces (check the box!). 708 calories is insane for a dinner. Cutting the pasta to 2 ounces will save almost 200 calories. I like your recipes a lot, but you seem to have zero concern for the health of your readers.
This was so good! I followed the comments and boiled the leeks first. Cut back on the olive oil, added a bit of vegan parm (violife). Will be adding this to my rotation.
Susie Townsend: I like the way you think! Sometimes more is more, but you are right that sometimes less is more. Simmered heavy cream + leeks (or turmeric, or garlic, or lemongrass) makes such an easy 2-ingredient sauce!