Caramelized Leek Pasta

I have a picture of this on my camera, but my camera is buried in the clutter drifts in the living room. Since I am writing this post specifically to avoid decluttering, it's another picture free post.

My friend was telling me about a "really great pasta recipe". It started out wonderfully, and then continued by adding more and more expensive and dominating ingredients. I can't see the end result being anything other than a mish-mash of flavors and textures. Here's the first few steps- I tested them, and they are delightful.

Remove the outer leaves and the green ends from two large or five small leeks (about 1 pound). Wash- particularly at the top end, where dirt is common- and slice into thin rounds. Chop 1/2 onion.

Saute leeks and onion in a large pan, over medium heat, in 2 tbs. olive oil until soft and slightly caramelized; about 10 minutes. (Preposition overload!) Sprinkle with 2 pinches salt (what a horrifically twee phrase. Still: two pinches.) so that the vegetables bleed a little. Turn the heat to medium-high for the last minute. Delectable brown crusts should form on the bottom.

Cook 1/2 pound pasta- linguine for preference- and drain. Mix the leeks and the pasta in a large bowl. Return the pan to heat, and deglaze with one cup white wine. (Deglaze means add liquid while stirring a lot so that the good bits on the bottom get dislodged.) Add the wine sauce to the pasta bowl, stir and serve.

There's no protein in this, so it is merely a side dish. Beware, beware, etc.

What, you want to know what the extended version includes? Reserve the leek mixture and deglaze with wine as stated. Add the leeks back and stir in 1 can artichoke hearts, 1 tbs hot pepper flakes, 1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives, 1/2 pound chopped pepperoni, about eight cloves of chopped garlic, and a 16 oz. can of tomato sauce. Serve over pasta with lots of Parmesan cheese.