What's for Dinner?

That was the daily question I asked my mom when I was a child. Lately, she asks me!

I love food. Good food. Real food. Now, I love to cook food. I had an interest in the art before we moved to Italy, but with all the amazing produce, meat, and cheese I’ve caught the Italian passion for food and mangia. The second most frequently asked question I get is “What do you cook in Italy?” I have decided to share with you what I've been making.


The other night I made mushroom and leek spaghetti. This was actually the first recipe I used from Rachael Ray’s Big Orange Book after I received it for Christmas. It tasted wonderful and we really like the combination of thyme with the wine cream sauce. At that time, I was unfamiliar with leeks or their Italian translation, so I left them out. I’ve never cooked with them but when I saw some at this week's market I thought I would give them a try. The added texture and green color was nice, but I do believe in this case, we actually prefer this dish without them.

Here it is for you to taste and remark. Try it with and without the leeks and leave a comment to let me know which you prefer.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Salt


• 1 pound whole-wheat or whole-grain spaghetti


• 1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms - shiitake, crimini, any that catch your eye at market


• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), (eyeball it)


• 2 leeks


• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped


• Freshly ground black pepper


• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons dried thyme


• 1/2 cup dry white wine


• 1/2 cup cream


• Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano, for topping
  
  

1. Heat water to a boil for the pasta, salt water, drop in pasta and cook to al dente.


2. Wipe mushrooms clean with damp towel. Remove woody stems. Thinly slice the mushrooms.


3. Heat a large deep skillet with EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until deeply golden and tender, 10 minutes.


4. While mushrooms cook, halve the leeks lengthwise. Cut off a couple of inches from tough tops. Trim off root end. Thinly slice the leek then vigorously wash in a large bowl of cold water, separating all the layers to free of grit. Let leeks sit a few minutes then lift out of the water and dry on kitchen towel.


5. Add leeks to mushrooms along with garlic and season with salt, pepper and thyme.


6. Cook 3-4 minutes more then add wine, reduce half a minute then stir in cream and heat through.


7. Toss pasta with mushrooms and adjust seasoning. Top with grated cheese at the table.