Rachael Ray's Lemon-Basil Pasta

Submitted by bricookie55

"In her cookbook Express Lane Meals, Rachael Ray originally had this pasta paired with fillets of sole. Thinking it would be good just as a pasta dish, I posted this for safekeeping. I made a few very minor adjustments to make it a bit healthier. Enjoy."

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• salt
• black pepper
• 1 lb spaghetti
• 1 lemon, juice and zest of
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 4 -5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup fresh basil, about 20 leaves, shredded

directions

1. Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil , for cooking the pasta. Add salt once water is boiling, then the pasta, and cook according to package directions. Note: you will need to use a ladleful (probably 1/4 to 1/2 cup) of the starchy pasta water to make the sauce, so gather that 1/4 to 1/2 cup before draining the water.
2. While pasta cooks, zest the lemon. Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add lemon zest and garlic to oil. Sweat the garlic for two minutes, then add wine.
3. Reduce the wine for 30 seconds, then add the reserved ladle of pasta water and the juice of the lemon. Reduce 30 more seconds. Turn the heat off.
4. Drain pasta and then transfer it to the skillet with the garlic-lemon-wine sauce. Add in the basil; toss pasta for a minute to absorb flavors. Season pasta with salt and pepper.

Reviews

[Jules127]

This was a great accompaniment to crispy pork tenderloin medallions I made last night. It was healthy, fresh tasting and fast. I didn't give a star rating because I didn't have fresh basil on hand and used the stuff in the refrigerated tube from the produce section. We still loved it! On another note, I used half a pound of linguine and I feel that this would easily feed 4 people as a side dish. I had plenty leftover and DH is looking forward to the leftovers.