Pasta with Bacon & Leeks

This was dinner that had to be a quickie, it was Thursday after French class and as always the lovely boyfriend needed feeding soonish after I got home and it was a need for me too as the weather was vile. First blast of autumn with heavy rain and whip your brolly inside out winds to splatter you with misery and just generally nasty.

Didn't have vast amounts of stuff in the fridge but I did have some smoked bacon and leeks and that was a good place to start. I had a couple of leftover things as well that needed using up - the last of a bottle of white wine and half a tub of crème frâiche. I had a vision of pasta sauce.

Pasta with Bacon & Leeks

1 small onion, finely chopped
100g/4oz bacon, sliced into 1cm/ 1/2 inch strips
3 or 4 leeks, washed and whites sliced into 1cm/ 1/2 inch rings
1/2 cup white wine
2tbspns olive oil
Fresh grated nutmeg
2-3 tbspns crème frâiche
2-3 tbspns grated Parmesan
250g pasta shapes you like

Heat the oil in heavy based pan and gently fry the onion and bacon for 5 minutes. Add the leeks and stir to coat then tip in the wine, season with a good grinding of pepper, turn the heat right down and simmer. Meanwhile cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water till al dente.

Grate some fresh nutmeg over the leeks and add the crème frâiche and stir to mix well. Set aside 2 tablespoons of pasta water then drain the pasta. Mix the sauce through, adding the extra water if needed for a lighter finish. Check and adjust the seasoning. Top with Parmesan and serve.

And my vision turned out to be very good - quite light and delicate with lots of subtle flavours and textures. And ready in half an hour. Definitely one to repeat.