Lemon Parmeggiano Pasta

LEMONS, LEMONS, LEMONS….Oh even as I write this my mind races with the possibilities. Until this past week I had not worked with fresh lemons; actually, I hadn’t really worked much with fresh non pre-made packaged foods. I love the smell of freshly grated lemon zest. I can not take full credit for this recipe as it is a close adaption of “spaghetti limone parmeggiano” as found in Gwyneth Paltrow’s “my fathers’s daughter” cookbook. I did make slight adjustments to the preparation and ingredient levels. This is definitely one of my favorite summer pasta dishes. 

Lemon Parmeggiano Pasta

Lemon Parmeggiano Pasta
(serves 4)

1 lemon
3//4 box of pasta (spaghetti, elbow, macaroni, etc)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp ground peppercorn (or ground pepper)
handful of basil (fresh or dried)
pinch of salt

1.     Bring water to a boil in a medium pot add salt and oil to “season” the pasta and help keep it from sticking. Strain pasta but retain about a cup of the pasta water. Place strained pasta back into pot.

2.     In a large bowl, grate the zest of the lemon. Then cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice from the lemon into the bowl.  Add the peppercorn, salt, and Parmesan cheese with the lemon juice mixture and mix thoroughly. Add in about 5 teaspoons of pasta water to the mixture.

3.     Over low heat, mix together the pasta and lemon mix and stir until the cheese is melted.  (should only take a minute or two. Our goal is NOT to cook the pasta but to melt the cheese)

4.     Enjoy!