Tomato Tomatoe

pasta al limone

Pasta al Limone originated in Campania, specifically in Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. Lemons are abundant in this region and are iconic to the Amalfi and Sorrento area. This dish uses very few ingredients, and it just goes to show that the simplest dishes are the best ones. The pasta is bright and lemony from the citrus and creamy from the pasta water and parmesan. This is one of my all time favorite pasta dishes and it comes together in under 15 minutes.

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pasta al limone

Ingredients

• 1 box of linguine
• ½- 1 cup pasta water
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 6 tbsp butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice of two lemons
• Zest of one lemon

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the pasta and cook for two minutes less than what the package says.  When the pasta is halfway cooked, remove 1 cup of pasta water and set aside.
2. Mince the garlic, zest the lemon and juice the lemons. Start the sauce by heating a large Dutch oven to medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil and garlic and cook this until the garlic becomes fragrant. This should take 1-2 minutes, If the garlic is cooking too fast, turn the heat down. Add the lemon juice, zest, lemon carcass and add the pasta directly to the sauce. The oils from the lemon will cook into the sauce. Add 1/2 cup of pasta water and let it cook for a few minutes until the sauce becomes creamy. If the sauce isn’t creamy enough, add more pasta water and stir constantly. Turn the heat off and add in the cheese. Toss until the sauce is creamy and the cheese is melted.