Sweet leek carbonara
Fresh thyme, garlic, cracked black pepper & Parmesan
Fresh thyme, garlic, cracked black pepper & Parmesan
Serves 4
Cooks In50 minutes
DifficultyNot too tricky
Nutrition per serving
Calories 418 21%
Fat 14.4g 21%
Saturates 6g 30%
Sugars 4.4g 5%
Salt 0.8g 13%
Protein 17g 34%
Carbs 58.9g 23%
Fibre 2.3g -
Of an adult's reference intake
Ingredients
- 2 large leeks
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 knob of unsalted butter
- olive oil
- 300 g dried spaghetti
- 50 g Parmesan or pecorino cheese , plus extra to serve
- 1 large free-range egg
Recipe From
Veg
By Jamie Oliver
Method
- Trim, wash and finely slice the leeks. Peel and finely slice the garlic and pick the thyme leaves, then place in a large casserole pan on a medium heat with the butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. Once sizzling, stir in the leeks and 400ml of water, then cover and simmer gently over a low heat for 40 minutes, or until sweet and soft, stirring occasionally. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
- When the leeks are almost done, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, then drain, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water. Toss the drained pasta into the leek pan, then remove from the heat and wait 2 minutes for the pan to cool slightly while you finely grate the cheese and beat it with the egg (if the pan’s too hot, it’ll scramble; get it right and it’ll be smooth, silky and deliciously elegant).
- Loosen the egg mixture with a splash of reserved cooking water, then pour over the pasta, tossing vigorously (the egg will cook in the residual heat). Season to absolute perfection, going a little OTT on the pepper. Adjust the consistency with extra cooking water, if needed, and finish with a little stroke of cheese.
- Fantastic served with a glass of cold Italian white wine.
Tips
Often I triple the leek base and freeze it for quick cooking another day.
To make vegetarian: swap Parmesan for vegetarian hard cheese.
