Ingredients:
- 5 large, beautiful stalks of leek, cleaned from root (without the green part)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup whole, fresh garlic cloves
- 5 whole, fresh sprigs of thyme
- 50g butter, cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
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For the pasta:
- 1 large pot of boiling water
- 500g whole wheat spaghetti
For serving:
- Fresh lemon wedge
- Chopped red chili
- Handful of Parmesan cheese
- Edible flowers or any other garnish you'd like to decorate the dish with
Instructions:
- Cut the leek stalks into equal 10cm sections. Place the pieces in a baking dish and scatter the whole garlic cloves on top.
- Distribute cubes of butter over the leek and garlic, then pour water into the baking dish. Cover tightly with parchment paper and foil.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F) with the turbo function. Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and parchment paper, and continue baking until golden brown. If the leek is soft enough, you can speed up the process using the upper grill function.
- Prepare the pasta: Boil the whole wheat spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water with a spoonful of salt.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain and transfer it to a hot pan with olive oil. Add some coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. If you need extra liquid, add some of the flavorful juices released by the leek into the baking dish.
- When the pasta is ready, remove some of the baked leek pieces from the dish and mix them into the pasta. Scatter the remaining pieces over the dish.
Serving:
Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl, squeeze fresh lemon juice over it, sprinkle some chopped red chili, grate a little Parmesan cheese, and garnish with edible flowers.