Lemon pasta
Pasta al limón
Contains allergens
- Author
- Equipo Cocinoa
- Preparation time
- 23 min
- Servings
- 4
Summary
An easy recipe for 4 servings. It takes about 23 minutes to make. Each serving has about 491 kcal. It is nut-free and sugar-free.
Pasta al limone from the Amalfi Coast: lemon zest and juice, butter and Parmesan brought together with the pasta water into a creamy, fresh sauce. It is ready in the time it takes to cook the pasta.
Ingredients
- 50 g Butter (cold, diced)
- 2 u Lemon (unwaxed, you need the zest of both and juice to taste)
- Salt (for the pasta water)
- Black pepper (freshly ground, to taste)
- 60 g Parmesan (finely grated)
- 360 g Spaghetti (or linguine)
Instructions
Bring about 3 litres of salted water to the boil in a medium pot: with less water than usual, the cooking water will be richer in starch. Meanwhile, wash the lemons, zest both and juice one.
10 min
Cook the spaghetti for two minutes less than the packet says.
8 min
With a couple of minutes to go, melt a third of the butter in a large frying pan over low heat with most of the zest, just until fragrant, without letting it colour.
1 min
Lift the pasta into the pan with tongs, without draining it completely, and add a ladle of the cooking water (about 150 ml). Finish cooking over medium heat, stirring, until al dente and the water has reduced to a cloudy, thick liquid.
2 min
Take the pan off the heat. Add the rest of the butter, the lemon juice and the Parmesan a handful at a time, tossing the pasta vigorously until everything comes together in a creamy, glossy sauce. If it is too thick, add another splash of water; taste and add more juice if you like it sharper.
2 min
Serve at once with freshly ground black pepper and the rest of the zest scattered over.
Notes
The dish comes from around Sorrento and Amalfi, where lemons are large, fragrant and not very sharp; with ordinary lemons, start with the juice of one and add more at the end if it needs it. Zest only the yellow part of the peel, as the white pith is bitter. Use unwaxed lemons or scrub them well under hot water. The creaminess doesn't come from cream but from the starch in the pasta water emulsified with the fat and cheese, which is why it pays to cook the pasta in less water than usual and finish it in the pan. The juice goes in off the heat so it stays fresh. If you'd rather not use butter, swap it for 4 tablespoons of mild extra virgin olive oil; the result is lighter and a little less creamy. Real Parmesan is made with animal rennet, so for a vegetarian version use a hard cheese made with vegetable rennet. A few basil leaves or a little pink pepper work very well. It is at its best straight away; leftovers can be reheated the next day in a frying pan with a splash of water.
More information
Nutrition facts491 kcal per serving
Nutrition facts
- Protein15 %18 g
- Carbs57 %70 g
- Fat28 %15 g
The percentage shows how much of the calories each macronutrient provides.
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 491 kcal | 334 kcal |
| Protein | 18 g | 12.2 g |
| Carbs | 70 g | 47.6 g |
| Fat | 15 g | 10.2 g |
One serving is about 147 g of raw ingredients; values per 100 g are based on that weight.
Estimated from the ingredient list · Values may vary depending on cooking method and product brand.
Guide indicatorsDifficulty, quality and data reliability
Guide indicators
- Estimated difficulty21/100
- Recipe completeness60/100
- Nutrition reliability
- High
Calculated automatically from the ingredients, steps, time and community feedback. They are not a guarantee.
StorageItalian
Frequently asked questions
- How long does Lemon pasta take to make?
- It takes about 23 minutes in total.
- Which allergens does Lemon pasta contain?
- It contains milk and cereals containing gluten. Always check the labels of the products you use.
- How many calories does Lemon pasta have?
- About 491 kcal per serving, with 18 g of protein, 70 g of carbohydrates and 15 g of fat. This is an estimate worked out from its ingredients.
- Which diets is this recipe suitable for?
- It is nut-free and sugar-free.
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