Lemon Spaghetti

When it comes to pasta John likes the simple approach. If he had it his way he would be satisfied with a bowl of pasta noodles with olive oil or butter along with salt and pepper. With Spring in full swing I wanted to find a way to kick this recipe up a notch and found a Lemon Spaghetti recipe from Giada that left us speechless. Apparently this dish is quite popular in both of her restaurants. It embodies everything about spring and summer flavors and the lemon makes this a memorable meal.

Honestly anything with lemon has my attention however this will be on the dinner rotation from here on out. Having only made this once there are a few things I noticed. First her original recipe calls for 2/3 cup of olive oil. I cut it in half using 1/3 cup. Less is always better in my opinion. The second is I used freshly grated parmesan cheese and it tasted great however moving forward I suggest using the fine powdered grated parmesan cheese. It will stick to the noodles much better and be evenly coated.

Find an excuse to make this meal, you can always add a little protein (chicken or fish) if you decide however I will tell you it tastes great as is. I think the only other way to enhance this dish would be to use fresh homemade pasta noodles. Now that sounds amazing! Glad I have a pasta making machine 😉

Lemon Spaghetti

Print

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup freshly grated fine powdered Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice from about 2 lemons
• 3/4 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
• 1 pound dried spaghetti
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest from about 2 lemons

Instructions

• In a large bowl, whisk the oil, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to blend. Set the lemon sauce aside. 
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Add the spaghetti to the lemon sauce, and toss with the basil and lemon zest. Toss the pasta with enough reserved cooking liquid, ¼ cup at a time, to moisten. Season the pasta with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to bowls and serve.