Another simple pasta I love that only requires one lemon and some butter. That’s right, ONE whole lemon. You need one thin lemon strip, some zests, and all of its juice and that's it. I highly recommend bucatini pasta noodles to go with this dish because of its hollow center is going to fill with the bright lemony sauce perfectly. Unless, like me, you only have angel hair pasta left (my least favourite), by all means use it. This dish takes very little time to make and it's perfect as a week night dinner.
Ingredients
1 Lemon: Thinly peel 1 lemon strip, save all of its zests, and collect all of its juice. Set these aside.
Bucatini pasta
Salt & Pepper
¾ cup Heavy Cream
6 Tsp chilled Butter cubes
Lots of Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
Some fresh Asparagus
1 cup of pasta water
Instructions
1. In a boil pot, add salt. It is very important to salt the water before putting pasta noodles in. This is the only chance to add taste to the pasta. Once Bucatini is in the pot of boiling salt water, give it a quick stir. Unlike most pasta, Bucatini has a hallow centre, which means it can be tricky to cook. Make sure not to cook the noodles all the way through, but only 60% done. The noodles will finish cooking with the sauce later.
2. Cut asparagus into 2 inch long, blanch in a hot of boiling water till color turns slightly darker. Remove asparagus from pot to a bowl of ice cold water to stop from cooking further. Set aside.
3. Make the sauce: Add cream and lemon zest to a Dutch oven or a pot, gently cook over medium heat. Once the cream starts to warm, add 1 Tsp chilled butter at a time to the sauce. Use a whisk to emulsify the butter and cream sauce. Remove the pot from heat once all butter is whisked in and sauce creamy.
4. Check on the pasta to see if it's ready. Remember the noodles will finish cooking in the sauce so do not try to make it al dente yet. Add pasta and asparagus to the sauce, mix with the sauce. If it feels dry, add a little pasta water to give it some body. Now, add parmesan reggiano cheese in, then add 2 Tsp lemon juice. Taste to see if more salt is needed.
5. Cut the lemon strip to thin strips. Plate the pasta with sauce, add some more cheese, crack some black pepper on top, finally lemon strips on top.
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