Pasta with Leeks

I was listening to A Chef's Table, the radio cooking talkshow on WHYY last weekend and heard Mireille Guiliano talking about her new cookbook, and how it had some recipes with leeks in them. This recipe is inspired by what she was talking about. Like many of the things I post here, the ingredients are largely negotiable, and shaped by what I had on hand. I shot for a 4:3:3 leek:sunchoke:mushroom ratio by volume. You could omit the sunchokes (or replace them with something else that's tasty).

Overall, this is a delicious and pretty low-fat way to make dinner in 15 minutes. For real lowfat goodness, omit the unsalted butter and cheese.

Ingredients

• 8 oz pasta - I prefer campanelle, because of its shape complementing that of the leeks. Mireille preferred longer noodles, like fettuccine in order to contrast the shape of the noodles with the more compact leeks. So, it seems like - anything will do.
• 3 leeks, white and very light green parts only, sliced very thin
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 3/4 c sunchoke, scrubbed (not peeled) and sliced very thin.
  
• 4 oz good mushrooms, sliced - I used Crimini, which ended up making the sauce come out kind of an unappetizing color (since I didn't clean the gills), chantarelle would probably work even better in the recipe, but you've gotta go with what's in the 'fridge.
  
• 1c chicken broth
• 0.5c white wine
• 1t dried thyme
• 0.5t dried sage
• 2T unsalted butter
• 1/4 c parmesan cheese
  

Preparation

Make the pasta according to package directions. Aim for quite al dente, as you want the finished pasta to absorb the leek broth goodness. Try to time it so you can drain the pasta and toss it with the broth all at once.

Saute the leeks, mushrooms, and garlic in 1T EVOO for around 5 minutes, until everything softens up. Add the chicken broth, white wine, and herbs. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and cheese, toss with the noodles. Enjoy.