Authentic Pasta al Limone (Lemon pasta)

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.
• 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 !