A long time ago, I tried to make lemon pasta my way. I thought olive oil was the way to go ; since the dishes finds its roots in Southern Italy, particularly in the Amalfi Coast and Sicily, where lemons are abundant and famously fragrant, I thought it was only fitting to favour Mediterranean ingredients only.
Unfortunately, the dish turned out way too acidic. Maybe I didn’t add enough olive oil though, because the Sicilian way includes olive oil and is famously tasty, too. But the Amalfi Coast (Campania) way is all about butter (and, sometimes, Parmigiano) :
Butter contains dairy solids and a bit of sweetness that mellow the sharpness of lemon juice.
Olive oil, while flavorful ;
is more neutral in mouthfeel and doesn’t buffer the acidity as effectively. Hence, the lemon’s tang can more easily come off as too harsh or sour ;
- doesn’t emulsify as easily, so you may end up with an oily or watery texture and sharp acidic bursts rather than a smooth coating.
I give credits when it’s due, and all the credit for this recipe goes to Simone Zanoni. I followed his own buttery method for pasta al Limone, in which :
- he creates a butter emulsion first, with the help of homemade vegetable broth ;
- he then adds the butter emulsion to his pasta, a tad more than halfway through the cooking process ;
- he waits towards the end to add lemon juice and zest, to preserve their flavour intensity ;
- he finishes it off with pasta water and sage.
The butter emulsion thing might seem intimidating ; it is absolutely not ! Simply use a hand mixer and it’ll be done in a few minutes. If you don’t own one, use a whisk, and it should take the same time -but with a slightly bigger effort.
The end flavour was absolutely amazing. Very lemony, fragrant, but with any excess acidity entirely balanced out by the butter emulsion. I mean, look closely at the picture ; this kind of creamy, velvety sauce can’t lie.
Pasta al Limone – Recipe
Ingredients – Advice & key points
I usually go to Eataly to get the produce I need. If you don’t have one near your location, you can find pasta and Parmigiano at your local Italian deli, maybe even your pasta. For pasta, if not available there, you should be able to order it online quite easily.
- Pasta
- I believe spaghetti is a great choice here, or any long-shaped pasta kind, as the light velvety sauce will cling to it.
What you must not compromise on is using Bronze Drawn pasta.
Why so ? Because when processed this way, the pasta will present small irregularities that will enable the sauce to cling to it.
- Lemon
- Since we’re using lemon zest here, please buy an organic lemon ;
- This pasta will only be as tasty as your lemon is : buy a quality lemon ! You want a thick skin, and an aromatic smell.
- In France, for example, go for the Menton lemon if you can find some.
- Vegetable stock
- I always save my veggies scraps in a ziplock bag that in keep in my freezer.
- After a few cooking sessions, you’ll have enough to make 1 to 2L of veggie stock ;
- Simply add to water with 1 tsp salt. Simmer (don’t boil!) 45mn to 1h ; your veggie stock is done.
- Keep the stock in your freezer, in ice cube trays, and use as needed.
- If feeling lazy, use premade veggie stock or even water only : it will still be delicious.
- I always save my veggies scraps in a ziplock bag that in keep in my freezer.
- Butter emulsion
- You can double it and freeze it in ice cube trays, too, to make the recipe even quicker the next time.
Cooking your pasta – Pieces of advice
- Pasta
- It is essential to salt your pasta water appropriately. 10g of salt/liter/100g of pasta is fitting here.
- As for most pasta recipe, we’ll finish cooking the pasta in the pan with the sauce. We’ll put them in when half cooked (around 6mn in).
- It is important that you start tasting 2 minutes before the packet theoretical time, so that you get perfect al dente pasta.
Now come and cook !
Authentic Pasta al Limone (Lemon pasta)
Description
20mn bold veggie pasta ! The lemon-butter combination works wonders and enables this 4-ingredients dish to turn into a fragrant, zesty yet creamy and comforting pasta.
Ingredients
For the butter emulsion
Instructions
Make your emulsion
Fill half a pot with 3L of water and bring it to a boil.
Meanwhile, make your butter emulsion by adding cubed, cold butter progressively to your stock, emulsifying it with the help of a hand mixer (or a regular whisk).
Let's start this pasta !
Add your salt, then pasta to your pot. Let it cook halfway (~6 minutes).
Meanwhile:
- crush your black pepper in a mortar or with the bottom of a pan
- zest your lemon
- mince your sage.
1 minute before your pasta is halfway cooked, add black pepper to a large, deep pan and let it toast on medium heat.
Don't forget to heavily salt your pasta water when boiling (10g/liter of water)Finish the pasta in the pan
When you can smell the pepper, add your pasta along with 2 to 3 ladles of pasta water. Let it cook 2 minutes.
Add your butter emulsion ; stir well, and let it cook 1 minute.
Add half your total lemon juice amount ; stir. Taste ; if you pasta is almost cooked, add your lemon zest and remaining lemon juice.
Stir well, adding pasta water as needed.
When al dente, add your sage and turn off the heat.
Plate it up.
Et voilà !! You're done !