Winter Cooking, Part II :: by mama

I've been seeing leeks in the grocery stores recently, which has been an unexpected surprise. Like strawberries, I think these are only around for the expats. (Thankfully, though, they are a lot cheaper.) Are leeks still in season now in the States? Or is their season over? I cannot remember exactly. Just in case they are still around, I thought I'd post a recipe that we enjoy, so others can try it as well.

I wasn't sure how Kaya would react to leeks. He is usually a very good eater, but I remember not being too crazy about leeks as a kid, and I thought he might feel the same. So I started out making a very basic leek and potato soup, which I was pretty sure he would like. That went over well, so I moved on to this dish, fettuccine with leeks and white beans, from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. I used homemade vegetable broth instead of chicken stock and increased the amounts of everything to accommodate a full pound of pasta. This is not "everyday food" for us, by any means, because fresh cream is not easy to come by around here. But it is good food; even Kaya thinks so.




I just noticed that the only two dishes I've posted about so far have been pasta + beans + a vegetable + dairy. Oops. We really do have more variety in our diets, I swear. And we don't eat that much dairy. My goal for the next recipe: a vegan dish with no pasta. No promises about the beans or veggies!