Pasta Sauce, Hold the Tomato
The first in many a pasta newsletter: white wine, cream, butter, and olive oil can make rich, hearty, wintertime pasta dinners without relying on out-of-season tomatoes.
I do not discriminate against any pasta. It would be sacrilegious to do so. Casting the addictive nature of carbohydrates and my immense adoration of pasta aside, I live in South Philadelphia; resident Italian-Americans exalt Sunday gravy, stand up for the dignity of properly made meatballs, and have been serving both the Italian-American community and their neighbors in the Italian Market on South 9th Street for a century. My pasta dishes will never do justice to that of any Nonna’s, but between picking up olive oil from Claudio’s and cased sausage and short ribs at Esposito’s, my due respect for pasta has exponentially increased. I am grateful for pasta. Pasta deserves so much from us as home cooks.
In a world of supermarkets, good enough tomatoes are readily available at any time of year. And, trust me, I will cover tomato-based sauces in many future newsletters. But, entering the depths of another Philadelphia winter, turning to hearty white sauces is most appropriate when bright, beautiful, summertime tomatoes are fewer and further in between. Butter, extra virgin olive oil, heavy cream, whole milk, and white wine — you really can never have too much of a good thing (as long as the dairy is whole-fat and the white wine is dry!).
This Friday’s Monday’s newsletter has three pasta recipes done up in creamy, hearty, spicy, acidic, glorious white sauces. They are a far cry from a limp fettuccine Alfredo, and give you options in terms of flavor and time. Plus my sweet potato gnocchi recipe is in here. My sweet potato gnocchi recipe is in here! But only to paid subscribers. You can unlock two more recipes in addition to the first free recipe for just $5 a month. Subscribe here for full access:
If you make anything, tag me @heardchefyeschef on Instagram. Let me know your adoration, your bastardizations, your deepest and darkest culinary secrets. My friend Jane made the mushroom broth from my last newsletter on soups and left a glowing review. Heed her advice!:
Without further ado…
Spaghetti with Caramelized Leeks and Mushrooms in Miso Cream Sauce with Scallion Oil
Serves 2. Ingredients:
Pasta and Sauce
1 large leek or 2 small leeks, washed, greens removed
1 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms washed and sliced/torn (I used a mix of shiitakes and oysters)
1 rounded tbsp white miso
½ cup heavy cream
1 lemon, halved
10 oz spaghetti or other long-cut pasta
3 tbsp unsalted butter
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Scallion Oil
½ cup roughly chopped scallions (both greens and whites)
½ cup neutral oil (I used avocado)
Make the scallion oil. Heat the neutral oil on medium heat and add in the scallions — you want the oil to be hot well before adding the scallions. Sizzle for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously to avoid burn, and remove from heat. Let the oil cool, then add oil and scallions to a blender and blitz until smooth. Fill a larger bowl with ice water and put a smaller bowl within; strain the oil into the smaller bowl (I used a sieve lined with a paper towel). Set aside, keeping the strained green oil cold to preserve the color. You can make a larger batch of this to have on hand for other dishes; it is important that after the oil is blended to strain it quickly and keep cold!
Prep your vegetables. Halve the leek whites and slice, very thin, into half-moons. Halve the onion and slice as thin as you can (this is a good time for a mandolin if you’ve got one). Heat 2 tbsp butter and 1-2 tbsp of olive oil on medium-high heat. Add just the onion to start. Cook until the onion is soft, transparent, and starting to yellow, about 6-8 minutes. Add in the leeks and turn the heat to medium-low. The leeks will cook faster than the onion, which is why the onion has been given a head start on caramelizing, and the thin slice evens out the cook time and results in jammier leeks and onions. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks and onion are almost caramelized (20-30 minutes). If they start to burn or cook too fast, lower the heat and add a splash of water to the pan.
Boil salted water in a pot and add in the spaghetti. Cook while you are preparing the sauce until al dente.
Turn the heat closer to medium. Add 1 tbsp butter and the mushrooms and give everything a good stir, then do not touch while the mushrooms release their water. After 4-5 minutes, season with salt and black pepper, add the minced garlic, and toss everything together. Deglaze with ¼ cup of pasta cooking liquid.
Add in ½ cup heavy cream and stir vigorously. In a small bowl, whisk miso paste with a few tablespoons of hot pasta cooking liquid until smooth. Add the miso to the sauce and stir to combine. Taste and season, if needed, with salt and pepper.
Strain the spaghetti and add to the sauce with ½ cup of cooking liquid. Toss the spaghetti until coated and glossy. Plate; garnish with lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped parsley, black pepper, and scallion oil to taste.