Pure sun on the plate
In July there are still delicious natural lemons. Perfect for a pasta al limone. Savor it, because doesn’t every summer go by too fast?
Summer lightness
Pasta with a quick sauce made from fresh lemons brings a touch of lightness to summer. No matter where you spend your summer, Pasta al Limone will make your table feel like it’s in a lemon grove.
Excellent natural lemons are still available in Europe until the end of July. Use the beguiling aroma of citrus for a simple pasta dish that goes with summer like lemonade and sunglasses.
We had already reported in detail about natural lemons – you surely always have a small supply at home.
All you need is a large piece of Parmesan from your favorite cheese shop, some good olive oil, and fresh basil leaves. That’s it.
This is how it works:
Place a skillet briefly over the pot where your pasta is cooking and pour in a generous amount of olive oil. Just warming the oil briefly and gently is enough, since the lemon sauce is more like a pasta dressing.
Then put the pan on the side and add in the slightly warmed olive oil:
- plenty of freshly grated parmesan
- A small pinch of Maldon salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Juice of natural lemon
- Grated lemon peel
- Basil leaves
Stir the mixture and keep at lukewarm temperature. To make the sauce a little creamier, add 1-2 tablespoons of the cooking water of the pasta and a small piece of butter. Done.
Add the cooked pasta to the pan, mix and serve immediately on preheated plates. Grate some lemon zest on each pasta portion again, shave plenty of Parmesan on top and sprinkle with small basil leaves. Finally, pepper again from the pepper mill. Done.
A light, very digestible summer dish that can be prepared in a short time and tastes best in the open air.
But there is lemon oil
Yes, they do exist, and we’ve tried several brands that were highly recommended to us. No lemon oil can replace the complex, slightly sweet aroma of a natural lemon, preferably one from the Amalfi Coast or Menton.
Like so many simple dishes, this one depends on the quality of its ingredients.
What kind of pasta goes with it?
This quick dish goes well with a fresh pasta, which usually requires a very short cooking time of just a few minutes.
To have everything at hand in the short cooking time of the fresh pasta, it is best to start with the grating of the Parmesan cheese and the grating of the natural lemon zest.
We like Pasta al Limone best with linguine, spaghettini, or fettuccine. These three types of pasta have the ideal shape for this dish.
The inspiration comes from one of GloriousMe’s favorite restaurants
Pasta al Limone is a classic that you nevertheless don’t get served in restaurants too often. It takes only a few minutes to prepare, but it must be done à la minute and can not be prepared.
It’s worth adding this dish to your own repertoire of recipes.
We first tried pasta al limone at the wonderful River Café in London, the restaurant where we would celebrate every success and every setback at any time.
The two founders, Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, who died at an early age, showed Italian cuisine at its best with their restaurant in England: simple dishes with the best ingredients.
With this formula and love of Italian food, they have managed to keep the restaurant, near the Thames in Fulham/Hammersmith, at a high level for years.
Jamie Oliver earned his first spurs here and all the guests we know not only appreciate this restaurant, they love it.
What else is needed?
Some white bread helps to absorb the last of the delicious lemon sauce from the plate.
Otherwise, all it needs is good company and a slightly chilled red wine, for example a Nebiolo or a glass of dry white wine, and the summer meal is perfect.
Photographs © GloriousMe
