Jamie Oliver's Proscuitto and Leek Pasta

I saw an episode of Jamie Oliver the other day and after seeing the amazing pasta he was cooking up I knew I had to make it myself. Fast.  The episode was from 2008 so it was a litttleee tricky trying to track down the recipe. When I finally did it had no measurements or temperatures….so I really had to wing it.

It turned out amazingly and really hit the spot for the group of friends I had over (at my man’s place), before all venturing off to a friends concert.  It has wine in it and it goes well with either red or white, absolutely perfect for an evening of drinking. The leeks simmer in white wine, chicken broth and garlic under a blanket of prosciutto. The bread crumbs are made with dried mushrooms and cooked in a garlic and rosemary infused olive oil. The end result: Creamy almost buttery tasting pasta with beautiful chunks of leek and prosciutto, balanced nicely with a little crunch from the breadcrumbs. This is DEFINITELY a make again. I served homemade bruschetta on crostinis as an appetizer (recipe below- trust me this is a good one to make….totally killer), and served a light salad with grilled veggies as a refreshing side to the pasta. Bon appétit!

Leeks simmering in a white wine, chicken broth, garlic, butter and thyme

Proscuitto covering the leeks, don't let any steam get out!

Once its all mixed together, toss on the breadcrumbs and some extra Parmesan. Yumm

Jamie Oliver’s Leek and Proscuitto Pasta

Olive oil
Knob of butter 
3 cloves garlic chopped
Thyme leaves (4 sprigs)
4 leeks, chopped
½ Glass of white wine
Salt and pepper
2 cups of chicken stock
Prosciutto ham (1 package)
Bread (stale)
Dried porcini mushrooms (4-5)
2 garlic cloves (not pealed just squashed) 
1 Sprig of rosemary
Pasta (fresh lasagne sheets cut into 1cm strips)

Directions:
Heat olive oil and knob of butter in frying pan. Add garlic and thyme and heat until softened.
Add leeks, stir to coat. Add wine and season with salt and pepper. Boil to evaporate alcohol.

Add stock and cover leeks with prosciutto to seal in all the steam. Cook for ½ hour.
In food processor blitz stale bread, porcini mushrooms and seasoning. 
Heat olive oil in frying pan, squash garlic cloves and fry with rosemary sprig to flavour the oil.

Add breadcrumbs and fry for a couple of minutes till brown and crisp.
Bring a pot of water to boil and add pasta.
Remove prosciutto from top of leeks and chop up then add it back into leeks and stir. 
Add parmesan cheese and a knob of butter.
Drain pasta (reserve a little of  cooking water to loosen sauce if required).

Add pasta  to leeks and stir through, top with breadcrumbs, thyme leaves, pamesan cheese, and drizzle of olive oil. Serve and Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Bruschetta

Preheat oven to 350. Mix cherry tomatoes with olive oil salt and pepper, place on a cookie sheet and pop into the oven for 20 minutes (or until roasted).

Chop: ½ a red onion, 5 artichoke pieces (from jar), 3 pieces of roasted red pepper (from jar), fresh basil, garlic and oregano. Mix together. Once the tomatoes are roasted add to mixture and roughly cut them/puncture them to release all their juices. Mix well and pop into the fridge overnight.