Marcella Hazan's "pasta Al Limone"

Submitted by oaklandish

"A deceptively simple, classic Mediterranean recipe from one of my fave chefs. Even better if you make fresh pasta, but dried pasta is super,too."

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 lemons, zest of, finely chopped, No Pith, just the yellow part
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1⁄2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for the table

directions

1. In a large skillet, bring the cream and butter to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the lemon juice and the zest and reduce the volume by almost half.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Have your cooked and drained pasta (I like fettucine for this one -- ) ready to go.
5. Add the pasta to your skillet with the sauce and toss to coat over medium heat.
6. Add the cheese and toss for a few more seconds.
7. Serve with additional cheese.
8. Note: Marcella calls for the zest of 4 (!) lemons, but I thought it a bit over the top -- just me.

Reviews

[JungleLove]

I'm not going to rate this, because I replaced the cream with soymilk. Obviously, the lemon juice coagulated it, but once most of the liquid evaporated away, it turned into a creamy like ricotta sauce. Not nearly as good as using heavy cream but certainly much healthier. I also added salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. I was skeptical about decision to replace the cream, and I wouldn't reccommend it, but if you don't think you'll mind its still pretty tasty. Thanks!

 

[Dr.Noit Awl]

Very heavy yet bland dish. I'd use light cream instead of heavy, or 1/2 ad 1/2. Still, it needs more than just lemon flavoring. I even tried black pepper but it didnt taste right. Maybe some salt?

 

[coconut bubblegum]

This is my new favorite summer pasta recipe! Wonderful. The recipe doesn't say how much pasta to use. I used a little less than a pound of spaghetti.

 

[Missy Wombat]

Excellent pasta recipe for when you don't really want to cook. I used the very first lemons to ever come off our tree for this recipe and the super-fresh organic ingredient just shone. Made enough for 1 adult, and 2 pasta loving 3 and 6 year olds. You could easily double the quantities as it will all get eaten!

 

[Jeffsmom]

This was a good meal that came together fairly quickly for a weeknight. I agree that 4 lemons would have been a bit much, but next time I'll try 3. Thanks for the posting.