Take a Leek

Actually, take four of them.

I haven't really had leeks, except for when it's blended into a potato soup. Since I found myself drooling all over the couch watching Jamie Oliver make Cheat's Pappardelle with Slow-Braised Leeks and Crispy Porcini Pangrattato, I figure I'd give it a shot.

First, the pappardelle. I even cheated the cheat by buying a pack of refrigerated Fettuccine. Heh.

Second, the braised leeks. I went to Fresh & Easy (because you know I'm obsessed) and got two packages of pre-cut leeks, total of 4 leeks minus the leafy greens. This yields 4 servings, easy. I didn't know if you'd really need all 5 with the greens.

The leeks were cleaned out quite well already. Just to be sure, I took out the outermost layer, wash them, and then chopped them. Then I employed the leek cleaning method once saw on Rachael Ray by dropping my cut-up leeks in a sink full of water so any leftover grits would sink to the bottom. And voila, my dinner was dirt-free!

On the chicken stock though, I would've gone with a little less than a pint. My sauce was, well, a bit saucier than I thought at the end without adding the pasta water. I added just a smidgen in there anyway, just in case.

About the prosciutto, I did chop them up and them back to the pan to much delight. It's delicious! But if you want to go somewhat vegetarian on this, you can probably omit adding it back in or using it altogether. Oh...but it's just soooo tasty!

Finally, the pangrattato. Brandon is not big on mushrooms. No matter how I tried to disguise it, he seems to be able to pick them out. I figured I'd leave it out altogether. And y'all know by now that I don't use rosemary. Instead, I chopped up some more thyme leaves and add it to the bread crumbs.

Oh, and for the crumbs, I used the 2 leftover cracked wheat burger buns from Fresh & Easy. One would've been enough, maybe one and a lid. Worked just fine.