LAURA LEE ALICE
COOKS
®
This recipe possesses a special allure. It's creamy, infused with, and brightened by a touch of lemon. With just a handful of simple ingredients, it's a breeze to make. I love that it pairs beautifully with various pasta types.
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Tips for success with this dish:
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• Sauté the garlic on low heat; you do not want it to brown. Browned garlic
tends to be bitter in taste. You should see just a few bubbles while it's
cooking.
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• Cook your pasta 2 minutes short of done to al dente. It will continue
cooking in the sauce.
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• Use fresh lemons and taste the juice before using. If it tastes too strong
(acidic), add less than the recipe states. You can add a little water to the
juice to help to cut the strong taste.
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• Cook the sauce on low heat to keep it from curdling. If it does curdle, you
can use an immersion blender to smooth it out or toss it into a blender.
If you need to, extra heated cream can be added.
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• Fresh pasta cooks in a fraction of the time it takes to cook dried pasta. So
if using fresh pasta, cook after the lemon sauce is done.
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Favorite Things
from
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the Kitchen
Phillips Pasta Maker
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About the ingredients:
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• Pasta: Use a good quality, semolina if possible.
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• Olive oil: I like to use cold-pressed virgin oil.
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• Garlic: Use cloves that are firm to the touch.
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• Heavy cream: Do not use half & half.
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• Lemon juice: Lemons vary in acidity. Meyer lemons tend to be a little
sweeter. I always taste to make sure.
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• Lemon zest: I scrub the lemons with salt and rinse to make sure they're
clean. Only use the colored part of the lemon peel. This is my favorite
microplane that I use for zesting and fine grating.
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• Parmesan cheese: I like to grate or shave from a fresh block of cheese if I
have it. More often than not, I use a good quality shaved or grated
cheese from a bag.
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Ingredients
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• I package of pasta (13 to 15-ounces)
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• ¼ cup of a good olive oil
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• 2 to 3 fresh cloves of garlic, finely chopped
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• 1 cup heavy cream
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• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (can use up to ½ cup if sweeter)
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• 2 tsp lemon zest (from the colored part of the peel)
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• ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese (shaved cheese works too)
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• Pasta water
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Instructions
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1. Prepare all the ingredients for the sauce. It cooks while the pasta is
boiling.
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2. Using a large pot on the stove, pour in 4 quarts of water; add 2
teaspoons
of salt. Bring to a rolling boil and add the pasta. Cook according to the
instructions on the package.
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3. In a large skillet place the olive oil and the chopped garlic. Cooking on
low heat, sauté for 5 minutes without browning. Add the cream and
lemon zest, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Stir in the lemon
juice until well combined. Turn off the heat.
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4. Drain the pasta, saving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta to
the sauce in the skillet. Mix well, adding some of the pasta water if the
sauce seems too thick. Add the parmesan cheese and toss OR add the
cheese to each individual serving. Garnish with chopped parsley or basil
leaves torn into pieces.
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