Linguine with Leeks and Radicchio

I'm having a little trouble transitioning to autumn recipes.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some autumn--I really love it.  You should see all the stuff I'm buying from Etsy to celebrate Halloween.  Kevin has told me to stop.


But my cooking has hard time keeping up with the transition, so cooking posts have been a little low.  There's just so much...stuff during the summer with which to cook--I know there's plenty of stuff in fall, also, but like I said, I'm having problems wrapping my head around the whole thing.  


I did find a recipe on Epicurious for a leek, radicchio and linguine pasta.  A bit of fall, easy, and filling.  The original recipe is for 2 people so I doubled the ingredients.


Adapted from Epicurious.

• 1 pound linguine
• a buncha extra virgin olive oil
• 4 medium leeks, roots trimmed, stalks sliced about 1/3" thick, white and light green parts only (about 6-8 cups of sliced leeks)
• 1 cup parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup walnuts plus a few more for garnish, if you want
• 4 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 small head radicchio, halved, cored, and thinly sliced

Serves about 6.

First, let's deal with the leeks. They tend to be sandy, so fill a really big bowl with cold water; toss in the slicked leeks; swish them around well to loosen the rings and the sand; let sit for 10 minutes; lift leeks (without disturbing sediment on bottom) and drain in colander. I know it sounds like a pain but it's really not--no special equipment needed. It's not like I'm telling you to bring out the salad spinner.

Heat about 3 TBS olive oil over medium high heat.  Throw in leeks, season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes (mine took on the longer side because I had the heat on about medium), until lightly browned.

At this point I tossed in a few TBS of white wine to deglaze, but you don't have to do that.  Turn off heat.


While leeks are cooking, place walnuts, Parmesan, parsley, lemon juice, and 6 TBS olive oil in mini food processor. 

Puree until they form a thick paste.

Cook your pasta according to directions, shaving off a minute.  Drain, then place in pot with leeks.  Stir in walnut pesto, mix well.  Toss in sliced radicchio.  

Incorporate until radicchio is a little wilted.  If you want, top with a few more walnuts and cheese.

Ta-da!