Recipe - Pasta With Eggs Leeks And Cream

1 pound Dried Pasta or
Three fourths pound Fresh Pasta * see note
3 md Leeks
One fourth cup Unsalted Butter or
Salted
4 Eggs or
1 cup Egg Substitute
One fourth cup Parmesean Cheese freshly
Grated
One fourth cup Light Cream (or
Evaporated milk)
Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

* recommended angel hair, penne or gemelli.

Trim the leeks, discarding the root end and the tough green tops. Slice the
leeks lengthwise and wash under cold running water to remove all the dirt.
Cut the white portions and the tender green tops crosswise into very thin
slices.

In a large wide frying pan over medium heat melt the butter. Add the leeks
and saute, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover
pan and keep warm.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, cheese, cream and salt and pepper to
taste. Set aside.

Cook pasta until almost al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the frying
pan holding the leeks and raise the heat to high. Pour in the egg mixture
and stir well until the eggs are firm but not dry, 12 minutes.

Serve immediately. Pass the more cheese at the table.

Serves 4 (unless you have seconds!)

NOTES:

I made this recipe for the first time last night and it was scrumptious.
And not only was it good, it was fast and easy and vegetarian (but
definitely not vegan). If you put the water for the pasta on to boil while
slicing the leeks, it can be done in about 15 minutes. It's going into my
"got home late and everyone is starving and have to get dinner on the table
FAST" file.

The original recipe calls for butter, eggs and cream, which don't fit on my
lowfat diet. So I substituted eggsubstitute and evaporated skim milk for
the eggs and cream and cut down on the butter.

The recipe is from the WilliamsSonoma Kitchen Library: Pasta Sauces, 1994
(ISBN 0783502834)

The recipe notes that adding One fourth pound (120 g) minced bacon to saute with
the leeks turns this into a carbonara sauce.

Recipe By : Laurie Thompson llt@GWIS2.CIRC.GWU.EDU

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini