Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 heads butter lettuce
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup basil leaves or 1/4 cup tarragon leaves
- 1/4 cup mint leaves
- 1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A generous handful grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
- 2 large or 4 small leeks, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced into half moons on an angle, washed and dried
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, grated or chopped
- 1 pint grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Salt the water, add the spaghetti and cook 1 minute shy of al dente. Remove a ladle of the pasta water and reserve. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Meanwhile, chop and reserve 1 lead lettuce. Chop second head and add to a food processor with the parsley, basil or tarragon, mint, pine nuts, lemon zest, salt and pepper, to taste, and the cheese. Pulse to chop the greens, then with the processor on stream in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, to form a pesto. Transfer the pesto to large pasta serving bowl and reserve.
Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and saute until wilted, 3 minutes. Add the grape tomatoes, stir, raise heat a bit and put a lid on the pan. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes to burst tomatoes - force the last few along with a potato masher or a wooden spoon if you get impatient. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, then stir in the wine and cook for 1 minute.
Add the ladle of the reserved pasta water to the pesto. Add the pasta to the bowl along with the tomatoes and leeks. Toss for 1 minute, and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Douse the pasta the lemon juice and garnish with the reserved chopped lettuce. Serve with extra cheese for topping.
Review This Recipe
You must be logged in to review this recipe.
or Sign Up to Review
Newest Ratings and Reviews
Read all 9 reviews
By ecf9_1503407
Ithaca, NY
on September 18, 2012
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
I made this tonight after a busy day and it really did come together in 30 min. Only substitutions I made were that I used whole wheat pasta, and asiago in place of the parmesan bc I realized after I started cooking that I was out of parm! I really liked the flavors of the pesto and the leek/tomato pan sauce, (tasted before I served to my mom! especially with the white wine base that added a nice tang you don't get from using stock. But I think the pasta/sauce ratio wasn't right - next time I will either use less pasta (as it was there were plenty of leftovers or make more pesto and leek sauce, to get the full flavor. The fresh butter lettuce "garnish" at the end was a surprising crunchy touch that was really different and pleasant, I will use that technique in other pastas in the future, too.
By BrittanyX
Oakland, CA
on August 15, 2011
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
I used this recipe as a guide for making my own salad meets pasta dish. For the pasta I used gluten-free corn pasta (because I am gluten-free and didn't make a pesto. I dont have a blender so I just did some herb and lettuce chiffonade. I don't like butter lettuse, I wanted something with more flavor. Instead I used some large leafed spinach and used curly parsley because the store didn't have any Italian parsley. Again the store didn't have grape tomatoes so I quartered super cherry tomatoes and used pepitas as my nut of choice. I really liked the concept of feeling like I'm getting enough greens in a pasta dish, maybe I'm a weird vegetarian freak like that. To me Rachael Ray is a great resource for ideas on how to put together a meal in a slightly different but familiar way. Her recipes are great recipes to tweek and have successful yummy outcomes...if you know what you are doing.
By lrobel26
Martinsburg, WV
on June 10, 2011
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
I thought this recipe was really good! I was looking for a good vegetarian meal to try, and I found this one. Lots of flavor!
Read all 9 reviews