Pasta al Limone (Lemon Pasta)
A bright, lemony dish that'll brighten up your table, Pasta al Limone (or lemon pasta) is the perfect pasta for the summer and beyond! Lemon, shallots and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese come together with pasta for a classic dish that's hard to resist.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2.5 tablespoon unsalted butter reserve half tablespoon for the end of the recipe
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Half large shallot minced
- 16 oz spaghetti
- 0.5 cup lemon juice about 3 lemons
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pasta water plus more for sauce consistency
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano plus more to serve
- Zest of 3 lemons
- Freshly cracked black pepper to serve
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil for your pasta and salt it generously - it should taste like the ocean!
- In a large pan, sauté the shallots in two tablespoons of melted butter and extra virgin olive oil on medium heat for about three to four minutes or until the shallots are translucent.
- Add the pasta into the pot of the boiling water. Stir and cook until the pasta is a few minutes shy of al dente.
- Reserve about two cups of pasta water. You'll use one cup to build out your sauce but may want some more to get to the consistency you prefer.
- Add in the lemon juice and salt to your pan with the shallots and stir together. Then add in the pasta water and cook together for about a minute.
- Add in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano to the pan, in stages, and whisk together quickly, making sure the cheese doesn't clump in the sauce.
- Add in the not-yet-al-dente pasta to the pan. The pasta will continue to cook in the lemon sauce. Add in the lemon zest and toss the pasta so it'll continue to cook until al dente. If the sauce thins out, add more of the pasta water you reserved to get your desired consistency. Add in the remaining butter to make the sauce extra glossy.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning. Serve with lots of freshly cracked black pepper and Parmigiano Reggiano.
Notes
- Zest the lemons before cutting them. Since we're using the zest and juice of the lemons in this pasta al limone recipe, make sure you zest them before juicing them to make it a little easier to prep for this recipe.
- Make sure your pasta is al dente! For the best pasta, you'll always want to make sure your spaghetti is al dente before you stir it in the sauce. In fact, I make sure my pasta is about two to three minutes before al dente before I add it into the sauce - for this and any pasta recipe.
- Storage. You can store this pasta in the fridge for up to two days. However, the longer you keep it in the fridge the more the texture of the pasta will change so your pasta will be less and less al dente as time passes.
- Reheating. The best way to reheat this recipe is in a pan for a few minutes on medium to medium high heat. To get the consistency of the sauce back, pour some water or broth as the pasta is heating up to get the pasta saucy again as you stir to heat the pasta. You can also reheat this pasta in the microwave but I highly recommend the pan method for a better sauce consistency.
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