Pasta with Leeks and Garlic Bread

I bought leeks for my vegetable soup I cooked last week and completely forgot to include them, which meant I had two leeks sitting in the fridge that I didn't want to go to waste.  That is completely fine thought since I absolutely love leeks.  In my family leeks are most commonly use in potato leek soup.  The dish is a favorite of my families, but, I figured I had been making enough soups and stews for summer.  A light pasta dish was much more fitting for the season.  This also meant that I could make everyone's favorite garlic bread and cook the artichokes that I also had sitting in the fridge.  Together they made an excellent meal.

Pasta With Leeks

• 1 pound pasta (I used linguini but any similar type noodles would work)
• 2 medium leeks
• olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• parmesan cheese
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.  When done, reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and then drain.

While the pasta is cooking, chop leeks and submerge pieces in a bowl of water to wash off dirt.  Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add leeks and cook until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.  Stir in flour and cook until it begins to brown, about 30 seconds.  Add in wine, lemon zest, lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  When most of the liquid has cooked out, add reserved pasta water, cook for another 30 seconds or so, and then remove from heat.  Pour over pasta and toss to combine.  Serve with grated parmesan on top.

Garlic bread

This garlic bread recipe calls for fresh roasted garlic rather than the easier to use garlic powder.  This means that it is slightly more complicated but much more delicious.  I've found that there are a couple ways of roasting garlic.  The first way is to peel the cloves and roast them in butter or oil and in a small covered dish.  Alternatively, you can leave the cloves in their skins, rub them with a bit of olive oil, wrap them in aluminum foil, and cook them that way.  This first method results in cloves with a bit of a browned outer layer which means that they can be a bit harder to mash up but does provide a nice flavor.  The second method results in much more easily mashable garlic but does mean that you have to peel hot cloves of garlic.  You can try both methods and see which you prefer.

• Loaf of good, relatively soft bread
• 8 - 10 cloves of garlic
• 6 tbsp. salted butter
• 2 tbsp. parsley, chopped

Directions:

Roast the garlic cloves in the oven until the cloves are soft enough to mash.  Mash the garlic and combine with butter and parsley.  Cut the loaf of bread in half lengthwise.  Cover both sides of the bread in the garlic spread paying special attention to the top half. Put the loaf back together and wrap with aluminum foil,  Bake in a oven at 350 degrees F for 10 - 15 minutes.

- Sophie