Creamy Leek and Prosciutto Pasta

I love leeks.  I only recently became acquainted with them in the past 2 years.  I would always seem them in the produce section of the grocery store, I would look them over and note how similar they looked to scallions (green onions) and then move on my merry way.  It's not that I was opposed to them, I just didn't know what do with them, which is probably my biggest reason for not picking up more radical unknowns from the produce department.  For example, would you know what to do with a rutabaga or celery root?  My recipes for them are very limited, but I've made it a personal mission to be more experimental with less commonly used vegetables. If you need to learn how to properly clean leeks (because I surely didn't know), you can click here for an easy description, however, this book Fine Cooking in Season: Your Guide to Choosing and Preparing the Season's Best does explain how to clean them.  It may seem like extra work to clean them out, but the flavor that they deliver is amazing and might be tarnished if you are eating sand with every bite.

Remember how I mentioned that this month's feature of Fine Cooking in Season: Your Guide to Choosing and Preparing the Season's Best is great for featuring seasonal fruits and vegetables and suggesting recipes that utilize them?  Remember also how I was slightly irritated with said recipe suggestions because they don't actually tell you how to make the dish, no ingredient list, no amounts, nothing?  Well, today's recipe stems from just that.  In the corner of the leek page, they gave a recipe suggestion for Creamy Leek and Prosciutto Pasta, and the instructions were as such, "Toss cooked fettuccine with sauteed leeks, sliced prosciutto, cream, and lemon zest."  And thus you should have a delicious pasta dish.  The end.  Anyway, I've tackled this recipe for you, writing out my ingredients and amounts of each and it turned out amazing.  I was quite impressed with myself and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.  Make it vegetarian by simply omitting the Prosciutto, however, you will need to add a salty component to the dish as a replacement.

Creamy Leek and Prosciutto Pasta
Inspired by Fine Cooking in Season: Your Guide to Choosing and Preparing the Season's Best
Serves 6

12 oz pasta (I used the Ronzoni Garden Delight Penne Pasta as it is vegetable-enriched pasta and it's pretty)
3 medium leeks (cleaned and chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 lb good Prosciutto, medium thickness, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 lemon



Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the pasta.  Start cooking the pasta just before you add the Prosciutto (see instructions below).

Heat a large pan on medium-high heat and add the olive oil. when the oil is hot add the chopped leeks and the garlic. Saute until just soft.  Add the Prosciutto and stir.  Continue cooking until the Prosciutto is cooked through, stirring so that the leeks absorb the juices from the Prosciutto.

The pasta should be done by now, so drain well and return the pasta to the pot.  Add the cream and stir well.  Next add the leek/Prosciutto mix and again, stir well, until the pasta is well coated.  Add the zest of the whole lemon and then squeeze the lemon juice into the pot as well.  Add a generous handful of the shredded Parmesan cheese and give a quick stir.  Provide extra Parmesan cheese for serving.  Open a bottle of white wine, pour yourself a glass and enjoy!