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I made dinner for my parents on Saturday night, and it was one of those things where when I was describing it beforehand they looked at me with trepidation, like, "Maybe we could just have hamburgers?", but then proclaimed its deliciousness with genuine sentiment. (Although we did have it alongside hamburgers, which didn't really go together but who cares. If I was making this properly, I'd have done a petite filet, so really, what's the difference?)
If I may say so myself, it is really the best-tasting thing I've ever made, in terms of interesting flavors and textures and all that jazz. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me, because it also looked really good, presentation-wise.
Adapted from Cheat's Pappardelle with Slow-Braised Leeks and Crispy Porcini Pangrattato by Jamie Oliver.
(And when I say "adapted," I mean "things I changed because something weird happened or I couldn't find the right ingredients.")
Jamie Oliver called it "cheat's pappardelle" because he took fresh lasagne sheets and sliced them into pappardelle, which are inch-wide ribbons. I could find neither fresh lasagne nor dried pappardelle, so I used fresh fettuccine. I also used 3 leeks instead of 5 because leeks are freaking expensive, and I think it turned out fine.
3 leeks
1 can chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
garlic - 3 cloves sliced, 2 cloves smashed
fresh thyme (leaves from 6-8 sprigs)
1 package fresh fettuccine
6-8 thin slices prosciutto
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 loaf day-old ciabatta
one sprig fresh rosemary
butter and olive oil
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
(The recipe calls for things like "three good knobs butter" and "a glug of olive oil." I wouldn't worry about this as it's hard to use too much of either of these things in this recipe.)
1. Trim the leeks (where the leaves start to leave the stalk is a good place to trim them). Slice them in half-inch strips and rinse them thoroughly in a colander or strainer. Leeks carry a notorious amount of dirt between their layers.
2. Put some butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. (Together they should cover the bottom of the pan, and then some.) When the butter has melted, add the sliced garlic and thyme leaves and stir. Cook garlic for one minute, stirring the whole time.
3. Add leeks and stir, making sure all leeks are coated in butter and olive oil. Add more oil if necessary. Stir for one minute.
4. Add a few grinds of pepper, the chicken stock and the wine and turn up the heat. Once it reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low.
5. Add prosciutto slices in a single layer, covering the leeks from edge to edge. Cover the pan and leave it alone for 25-30 minutes, basically however long it takes you to make the pangrattato.
Pangrattato
(Timing hint: Put on a pot of water to boil for the pasta before starting the pangrattato.)
1. Tear the stale bread into chunks. Put all the bread and the dried mushrooms in a food processor, add a pinch of salt and few grinds of pepper, and "whiz" (as the original recipe says) until nothing is bigger than the size of a pea. Uniformity is NOT key; most of it should look like bread crumbs but there can be some different sized bits.
2. In the biggest frying pan you have, heat some butter and olive oil (again, enough to coat the bottom and then some) over medium high heat. Add the rosemary and smashed garlic and cook for one minute, stirring most of the time.
3. Add the bread crumbs and stir. Keep shaking the pan and/or stirring the bread crumbs until all of them are toasty brown. Don't be afraid to add more oil if necessary, and don't walk away from the pan as they will burn quickly if they're not moving.
4. When everything is browned, dump the bread crumbs onto some paper towels to dry out and cool. Remove the rosemary and garlic and throw away.
The water should be boiling by the time you take the pangrattato off the heat. Turn off the heat under the leeks and add the pasta to the water. While the pasta is cooking:
1. Remove the prosciutto from the top of the leeks and set aside.
2. Drain the leeks, reserving the cooking liquid. Leave some liquid in the pan for a bit of sauce and add more back once the pasta is added, if necessary.
3. Slice the prosciutto into bite-size pieces and stir back into the leeks.
4. When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the leeks, or, if you're me, use the funny-looking pasta fork utensil thing to lift it out of the water and add it to the leeks.
Stir everything together. Serve individually, topped with Parmesan cheese and pangrattato, and any leftover thyme.
(The recipe calls for the Parmesan to be stirred into the leeks before serving, but when I tried it that way, I ended up with three rather unappetizing globs of melted cheese, so I threw those out and added some to the top.)
The only bad thing about this recipe is that it's not really very wallet-friendly -- the ingredients will probably run you $25 to $30, assuming you have some wine in the fridge already -- but it does make four good servings, and it reheats well.
If I may say so myself, it is really the best-tasting thing I've ever made, in terms of interesting flavors and textures and all that jazz. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me, because it also looked really good, presentation-wise.
Adapted from Cheat's Pappardelle with Slow-Braised Leeks and Crispy Porcini Pangrattato by Jamie Oliver.
(And when I say "adapted," I mean "things I changed because something weird happened or I couldn't find the right ingredients.")
Jamie Oliver called it "cheat's pappardelle" because he took fresh lasagne sheets and sliced them into pappardelle, which are inch-wide ribbons. I could find neither fresh lasagne nor dried pappardelle, so I used fresh fettuccine. I also used 3 leeks instead of 5 because leeks are freaking expensive, and I think it turned out fine.
3 leeks
1 can chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
garlic - 3 cloves sliced, 2 cloves smashed
fresh thyme (leaves from 6-8 sprigs)
1 package fresh fettuccine
6-8 thin slices prosciutto
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 loaf day-old ciabatta
one sprig fresh rosemary
butter and olive oil
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
(The recipe calls for things like "three good knobs butter" and "a glug of olive oil." I wouldn't worry about this as it's hard to use too much of either of these things in this recipe.)
1. Trim the leeks (where the leaves start to leave the stalk is a good place to trim them). Slice them in half-inch strips and rinse them thoroughly in a colander or strainer. Leeks carry a notorious amount of dirt between their layers.
2. Put some butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. (Together they should cover the bottom of the pan, and then some.) When the butter has melted, add the sliced garlic and thyme leaves and stir. Cook garlic for one minute, stirring the whole time.
3. Add leeks and stir, making sure all leeks are coated in butter and olive oil. Add more oil if necessary. Stir for one minute.
4. Add a few grinds of pepper, the chicken stock and the wine and turn up the heat. Once it reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low.
5. Add prosciutto slices in a single layer, covering the leeks from edge to edge. Cover the pan and leave it alone for 25-30 minutes, basically however long it takes you to make the pangrattato.
Pangrattato
(Timing hint: Put on a pot of water to boil for the pasta before starting the pangrattato.)
1. Tear the stale bread into chunks. Put all the bread and the dried mushrooms in a food processor, add a pinch of salt and few grinds of pepper, and "whiz" (as the original recipe says) until nothing is bigger than the size of a pea. Uniformity is NOT key; most of it should look like bread crumbs but there can be some different sized bits.
2. In the biggest frying pan you have, heat some butter and olive oil (again, enough to coat the bottom and then some) over medium high heat. Add the rosemary and smashed garlic and cook for one minute, stirring most of the time.
3. Add the bread crumbs and stir. Keep shaking the pan and/or stirring the bread crumbs until all of them are toasty brown. Don't be afraid to add more oil if necessary, and don't walk away from the pan as they will burn quickly if they're not moving.
4. When everything is browned, dump the bread crumbs onto some paper towels to dry out and cool. Remove the rosemary and garlic and throw away.
The water should be boiling by the time you take the pangrattato off the heat. Turn off the heat under the leeks and add the pasta to the water. While the pasta is cooking:
1. Remove the prosciutto from the top of the leeks and set aside.
2. Drain the leeks, reserving the cooking liquid. Leave some liquid in the pan for a bit of sauce and add more back once the pasta is added, if necessary.
3. Slice the prosciutto into bite-size pieces and stir back into the leeks.
4. When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the leeks, or, if you're me, use the funny-looking pasta fork utensil thing to lift it out of the water and add it to the leeks.
Stir everything together. Serve individually, topped with Parmesan cheese and pangrattato, and any leftover thyme.
(The recipe calls for the Parmesan to be stirred into the leeks before serving, but when I tried it that way, I ended up with three rather unappetizing globs of melted cheese, so I threw those out and added some to the top.)
The only bad thing about this recipe is that it's not really very wallet-friendly -- the ingredients will probably run you $25 to $30, assuming you have some wine in the fridge already -- but it does make four good servings, and it reheats well.
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