W5/Meal 1, Part 1: Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Goat Cheese, Leeks and Zucchini

The first thing to strike my fancy in this share was the leek. It was also the first thing to look a little worse for the wear (thanks to the wilt-inducing heat that would soon annihilate the celery) so I hurried to find a recipe.

This sounded perfect for a hot summer night-- minimal cooking time and flavors that I love.

Have I mentioned yet how much I love goat cheese? I love goat cheese SO MUCH. And goat's milk yogurt. My dream is to someday live in an actual house with an actual yard and have an actual goat. Well, not a full-sized one but a pygmy one. Same milk, cuter packaging. Except... I hear that they're assholes.

I digress.


Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Goat Cheese, Leeks and Zucchini

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
4 medium leeks (white and light green parts), halved lengthwise, sliced
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise
1 cup half and half
5 ounces soft milk goat cheese (such as Montrachet), crumbled
1 pound fettuccine
1/4 pound smoked salmon, chopped

Directions
1] Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced leeks and sauté until golden and tender, about 10 minutes.
2] Add sliced zucchini and sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
3] Add 1 cup half and half and crumbled goat cheese and stir until goat cheese melts. Remove sauce from heat. Season sauce with salt and generous amount of pepper.
4] Meanwhile, cook fettuccine in large pot of rapidly boiling salted water until pasta is just tender.
5] Drain fettuccine and return to pot. Add sauce to fettuccine and toss until thoroughly coated. :: Transfer fettuccine to large bowl. Top pasta with smoked salmon and serve immediately.

***

The original recipe can be found here. I followed it pretty closely, other than using whole milk instead of half and half and gluten-free penne instead of fettucine. Per the reviewers' suggestions, I mixed the salmon in with the sauce instead of putting it on top and added some red pepper flakes.

Verdict: Awesome. Can I say that again? I say that a lot. But really, it was awesome. I loved the contrast of the creamy sauce and the smoky salmon. It was sort of like taking all of the flavors of a lox platter and putting them in a sophisticated pasta dish. The colors were beautiful, too. This would be great for a spring-time dinner party.