Pasta Med

Yet another quick, simple tomato sauce.

You can’t have too many of these sauces in your repertoire. This combination showcases capers, Kalamata olives, leeks, garlic and achieves greatness when combined with cavetelli on a Monday night while you watch Sliding Doors after a late afternoon walk in the park with Groom, Lucy and Lily.

Just another day in paradise.

Pasta Med

2 leeks, washed and thinly sliced
5 fat cloves garlic, minced
Hot red pepper flakes, 2 shakes
A couple of good swirls of extra virgin olive oil
A good splash dry vermouth
1 tbsp capers
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, coarsely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes and their juice
Cavetelli for two, cooked
Small handful chopped fresh Italian parsley

Heat a couple of good swirls of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in large saute pan. Add leeks and cook til soft and a bit of brown on the edges and add the garlic and cook about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, vermouth, sun dried tomatoes, hot red pepper flakes, olives, capers and Italian parsley. Let cook til thick. Add hot cavetelli and a bit of pasta water if sauce is too thick for your taste.

Serves 2 generously.

This sauce is wondrous with large shrimp or grilled scallops added at the last minute.

Pasta Med