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Sweet leek carbonara with spaghetti and grated cheese on a serving platter with tongs

Sweet leek carbonara

Fresh thyme, garlic, cracked black pepper & Parmesan

Sweet leek carbonara with spaghetti and grated cheese on a serving platter with tongs

50 mins
Not Too Tricky

serves 4

About the recipe

My veggie twist on a classic carbonara champions incredibly sweet leeks, thyme and plenty of cracked black pepper. It’s well worth slow-cooking the leeks here – leave them to gently tick away while you get on with other things.


nutrition per serving

Calories

g

Fat

g

Saturates

g

Sugars

g

Salt

g

Protein

g

Carbs

g

Fibre

of an adult’s reference intake


Recipe From

Veg

Veg

By Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

2 large leeks

4 cloves of garlic

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 knob of unsalted butter

olive oil

300g dried spaghetti

50g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, plus extra to serve

1 large free-range egg

Top Tip

Often I triple the leek base and freeze it for quick cooking another day.

Method

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. 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).
  6. 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.

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