This pasta is such a delicious comfort meal that is perfect to cook for loved ones on a chilly night. It’s a great way to use up leftover veggies too! Leeks are my new favorite ingredient of 2023 (if anyone is curious, my favorite new ingredient of 2022 was shallots) – they have such a distinct and delicious flavor if you love ~oniony~ ingredients like I do.
- Clean and slice one leek, a large handful of mushrooms (I used white button mushrooms because they were on hand), and 3 cloves of fresh garlic (I like alllll the garlic).
- Sauté the sliced leeks and mushrooms in a pan with some butter (I used plant-based butter). Once they start to cook down and the mushrooms start to brown, add the fresh garlic and salt/pepper to taste. As a tip, when cooking mushrooms, don’t add salt until the mushrooms have started to brown a bit – if you salt them too soon, they will not caramelize and get golden brown.
- Add a couple clean handfuls of fresh spinach to the same pan (I love spinach, but you could add any greens you like). Pour 2-3 TBSP of water into the pan to help to steam the spinach.
- In a separate pot, boil the pasta. I used medium shells, and I recommend using a similar noodle that will cling to the sauce and veggies.
- Once al dente, drain the noodles and pour them into a large bowl. Dump the mushroom, leek, spinach, and garlic butter mixture into the bowl, and mix it all together.
- Add 1/3 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. I used unsweetened coconut milk and vegan mayo to keep the dish plant-based.
- Season the mixture with Italian all-seasoning, red chili flakes, and salt/pepper to taste.
- Dish it up with some fresh grated parmesan cheese for a delicious and beautiful presentation!
*I wanted to keep this a plant-based dish, but for the meat-eaters out there, bacon, chicken, or shrimp would be great additions!