Today’s pasta with leek confit and mushrooms was inspired by a wonderful leek confit that I saw over at The Wimpy Vegetarian back in January. I’ve made this confit several times, using it as the base for pizza and a toss for vegetables and rice – always resulting in a delightful dish. However, one of our favorite uses is tossing it with pasta. In this dish, mushrooms and sweet peppers are added to the confit during the last 10 minutes of simmering. The vegetables are then toss with pasta and topped with Pecorino Romano. The resulting dish is a delicious, hearty and healthy meal, a great dish for Meatless Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, or any day of the week.
Pasta With Leek Confit and Mushrooms
This pasta uses the Leek Confit by Susan @ The Wimpy Vegetarian and mushrooms as a rich and flavorful pasta sauce for a hearty and absolutely delicious vegetarian meal.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information and links.
- 2 medium leeks
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or more according to your taste
- few twists of freshly ground pepper
- large stem of thyme* – left intact
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 large stem fresh sage*, about 8 to 10 leaves, left intact
- 1/2 pound ~5 to 6 large mushrooms*, sliced
- 1 large sweet pepper*, sliced
- 8 ounces linguine or spaghetti*
- 1 cup Pecorino Romano, grated
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- To make the confit, follow the instructions for leek confit at The Wimpy Vegetarian. The only thing I’ve changed in her recipe is the addition of the fresh sage. So add the sage along with the thyme.
- Once you get the confit started, start the water for the pasta and cook the pasta according to instructions.
- After the confit has simmered for 35 minutes, add the sliced mushrooms, sweet pepper, and 3 Tbsp. water from the pasta to the confit. Toss with the leeks, cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- When the pasta is done, drain, and return it to the pot. Add the confit mixture. Toss well to coat the pasta.
- Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve. Top each serving with some of the Pecorino Romano.
Herbs – The only thing that I have changed with the confit recipe is to add the sage which goes quite well with mushrooms; however, you can use any herbs that you want. I’ve also used tarragon with mushrooms which is another complementary herb for this dish.
Sweet Peppers – Any type or color of sweet pepper would work. This dish was made with the same type of sweet peppers that I used in my Spicy Sweet Red Pepper Soup.
Mushrooms – White button mushrooms were used in this particular dish; however, baby bellas or shiitakes work just as well
Pasta – Linguine, vermicelli, spaghetti, or farfalle are best. They are relatively lightweight pastas which work well with this vegetable mixture. Penne, ziti, fusilli or rotini are too heavy for this particular dish; therefore, I don’t recommend them.
Recommended Meat Topping – This dish really doesn’t need anything other than the cheese; however, one night I rendered some diced salami in a hot skillet and toss it in with the pasta and vegetables. It was a nice smoky, salty addition to the dish.
Nowadays we try not to eat a lot of pasta, because we just don’t need the white carbohydrates. In fact, we’ve gone from having pasta once a week to once a month. Because we have it so infrequently, we have become pretty picky. This Pasta with Leek Confit and Mushroom has become one of my favorites along with a few others. Following are some of our favorites. I know you’ll love them all as much as we do.
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I have everything except the mushrooms. I guess I will run to the store today. 🙂
So hungry looking at these pictures. Wish I could dig into a big bowl of this. Yummy!
I have had pasta in my mind for several days and now I know what I’m going to make. Leeks are one of my favorite vegetables and combining them with mushrooms and pasta is brilliant. This sounds so delicious!
Thats a vibrant looking pasta, nice flavours.
Learned another new dish – Leek Confit! You are amazing, MJ as always. And what a beautiful presentation…that red plate is striking good.
Thanks so much Sanjeeta! It’s always an honor to receive such nice compliments from one of my favorite photographers!
It sounds and looks amazing and would probably be one of the rare meatless dishes I would go crazy for. I have never combined leek and mushrooms and find the idea excellent.
Thanks Sissi! I have a couple of dishes that use leeks and mushrooms. It’s a great combo! I think you’ll like it. You can “chunky cut” the mushrooms to get more of feeling of having meat in the dish. 🙂
Ok, I just learned about Leek Confit and I’m so ready to make this pasta!!! I love leek and mushrooms and this is like a dream pasta for me (I bet my husband says where is meat?). I can’t wait to cook this (and buy rotisserie chicken on the side for my husband LOL).
Thanks Nami! It really is good and Susan’s leek confit makes it. It wouldn’t be the same without it. For a little meat to it you could top it with bacon (of course) or the rendered salami. Bobby really like it with the salami. Hope you enjoy!
This is one fresh, vibrant tasting pasta dish, MJ! I love all the colorful vegetables & fresh herbs that go into the plate. Definitely a meal that can be enjoyed anytime of the week and finish with a glass of red:) Perfecto!
I could eat a bowl of that confit with a spoon! Wow. So I know I’d love this pasta dish…every single thing about it sounds delish!
I agree. Meatless “everyday” of the week. This looks really fall-like and delicious.
Leek confit – that’s a new one for me… Hope things are going well for you, MJ. Cheers
These sound so good!
How did I miss the leek confit!?
Of course I am always looking for a new pasta recipe. They are always quick to make and usually my husband likes all variations and flavor ideas. Otherwise he can be so difficult… I just introduced him to leek a few weeks back. We don’t get this veggie so easily here and I had made a leek onion soup and leek tart. Thanks for sharing your recipe, I ll treasure it.
Thanks Helene! I had never heard of leek confit until I saw it over at Susan’s. Now I’m addicted to it! There are SO many ways to use it. I’ve only just begun. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Leeks, mushrooms and sage is a lovely aromatic accompaniment to pasta. Perfect fall dish
Oh..that looks really delicious, MJ! I LOVE the mild flavor of leeks. Unfortunately, the first (and only) time I worked with them, I did not clean them well enough and my soup tasted like the beach! I’ve been afraid to try them again….but this pasta looks amazing and I love trying non traditional pasta recipes….so you might have me triple washing my leeks in preparation for this one! : )
I hat bead cooking experiences because they are so are to get over. Hope you are able to move past Anne, because any with leeks is worth it! Thanks for stopping by my friend!
Did you say base for a pizza? I am so in then!!!! This recipe sounds amazing:-) Hugs, Terra
Oh Terra – you would adore this confit on pizza!
I am loving leeks at the moment, and anything cooked with butter speaks to my heart (in a good way). Beautiful recipe, MJ and beautiful photo 🙂
I love leeks and don’t seem to buy and cook them enough. This is a beautiful pasta dish and as a veggie lover… I would enjoy this very much. 🙂
Your pasta dish is stunning and looks so good. I love leeks and this is a great way to use them. Bookmarked!
Who needs meat if you have all of these goodies and my favorite meaty chunks of mushrooms (no fun intended). This is a beautiful comfort food, MJ. 🙂
Thanks ray! Totally agree – who needs meat?! Have a great weekend!
Beautiful dish, MJ, can’t believe how many recipes I’ve missed while away, always a pleasure reading your posts!
Thanks G! Glad to see you back! 🙂
Leek Confit… sounds so complicated, yet it isn’t, and it’s SO GOOD! I love this dish. My husband would most likely marry it, if he could.
When I first saw “leek confit”, I thought complicated as well. But it’s so easy and so good! Thanks Kate!
This looks delicious, MJ! I love the presentation, as well — the red and black of the plate with the red pepper and black bits of the mushrooms… restaurant perfect!
Thanks so much Viviane!
Confit has got to be one of the most elegant words in the French dictionary. It makes every dish sound sublime 😉 and in my world view, there’s nothing quite like a little butter fat to draw out the flavour of vegetables… delish! (love the combination of leek and shrooms too). Your pasta looks gorgeous MJ – the colors are blazing against your lovely table linen and dish. Autumn is written all over this beautifully prepared meal.
I had to smile when I read your comment, because I too LOVE saying the word “confit”. 🙂 Totally agree on the butter fat – it doesn’t take much, but this dish wouldn’t be the same without it. Thanks for the comment on the pictures. I had to go back to the article I sent you because the food isn’t really that pretty, so I tried to make the setting colorful. 🙂
you definitely succeeded on the prettifying front! 😉
That does look good! Clever dish.
What a gorgeous pasta! I love all the flavors you incorporated! The leek confit sounds pretty special.
Thanks Reeni! The confit IS quite special. 🙂
This pasta looks quite magnificent my friend 😀
Delicious!
Cheers
CCU
Ooh, this sounds absolutely DELICIOUS! I love leeks and mushrooms, especially with pasta. 🙂
I’m just catching up after my latest travels and what a nice surprise when I checked out what you’ve been cooking lately! Thanks so much for the lovely shout-out !! I’m so glad you liked the confit – I use it year round for so many things now. And you’ve come up with a fantastic way to use it. I’ve this pasta with all the mushrooms 🙂
My pleasure Susan! You know how much I love the confit. I just had to share it and hopefully more people can enjoy it. Let’s see, I first made it in January and again several times since then, so I think it’s going to be a year round dish for me as well. 🙂 Thanks so much for such a great recipe!
Leek and mushroom pasta! This looks incredible. I will have to give this a try. Pasta is a favourite here for a mid-week meal xx
Thanks Charlie! Pasta usually ends up being a mid-week meal for us as well. It’s quite, hearty and delicious, isn’t it? 🙂
Leek and mushrooms is quite an interesting combination.. I love it!
What a great way to use leeks! i love this – so many great flavors. And I can never get enough pasta dishes. Really a creative recipe – thanks so much.
Thanks John! I have to be honest that I can’t get enough of Susan’s leek confit! You’d love it!
That is really delicious pasta, my daughter love pasta very much MJ.
Leeks add such a sweet flavor to the food. This is a very hearty and packed with flavors pasta dish!
I love that you added sage…it goes so well with mushrooms. This has to be such a delicious pasta dish.
thanks Karen! It is quite good and the leek confit really makes it!
I love the flavors and colors of this dish! Looks delicious MJ!
Mmm, I like the addition of sage and what a colorful dish! Really nice one, MJ, saving this to my ‘must try’ file. 🙂
Thanks Judy! The sage is really great with this vegetables.
I love leeks, but have never tried sweet peppers with them – but after seeing your recipe, I simply must!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Shashi! The sweet peppers are a great complement with the leeks!
Wow, this dish looks delicious. I love all the flavors happening in this recipe. Pinned!
Thanks for the comment and the pin Jennie!