Pasta with Brown Butter, Whole Lemon & Parmesan
Quick and tasty! Whip up this nutritional dish for your family on any weeknight or use it to impress guests. Served alongside a complex salad, this adaptation, with more cheese than the recipe from Epicurious calls for, forms a full meal, hearty and memorable. You'll need an entire lemon, peel, pith and fruit. The rounds are delicious when they're caramelized and cooked in the sauce. See Note in the Method if you're concerned the lemon might be too tart or bitter.
Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
1 lb. pasta
Kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup - 5/8 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, divided
1 medium - large regular lemon or Meyer lemon, very thinly sliced into rounds, seeds removed. (See Note below about how to reduce the bitterness in the lemon).
2-4 oz. Parmesan, finely grated, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Note: To reduce any potential bitterness in the lemon, immerse it for two minutes in boiling water. Remove, cool for a minute, then slice very thinly, discarding the ends. Do not cut off the peel - keep both the peel and the pith.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling generously salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions (the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce).
Meanwhile, heat half of the butter in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium until melted. Add the lemon slices and cook, stirring often, until softened and bottom of pot is browned in spots, 5–7 minutes. Using tongs, transfer one-third of the lemon slices to a plate. Set aside.
Just before the pasta is al dente, scoop out 2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Add 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid to the butter sauce. (This may seem like a lot of liquid, but it will thicken once the remaining ingredients are added.) Add the remaining butter, a piece at a time, whisking until each piece is incorporated before adding more, until the sauce is emulsified and creamy.
Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Cook, stirring often and adding Parmesan, a little at a time, until it's as cheesy as you desire. Once all of the cheese is added, continue to cook, still stirring, until the cheese is melted and sauce is creamy and clings to pasta, about 2-3 minutes. If the sauce looks very thick, add more pasta cooking liquid, 1–2 tablespoons at a time to thin it (saucier is ideal as it will thicken as it cools). Remove the saucepan from the heat and sprinkle with an almost ridiculous amount of pepper (about 2 tsp.); toss once more.
Serve the pasta topped with the reserved lemon rounds and more Parmesan.
Quick and tasty! Whip up this nutritional dish for your family on any weeknight or use it to impress guests. Served alongside a complex salad, this adaptation, with more cheese than the recipe from Epicurious calls for, forms a full meal, hearty and memorable. You'll need an entire lemon, peel, pith and fruit. The rounds are delicious when they're caramelized and cooked in the sauce. See Note in the Method if you're concerned the lemon might be too tart or bitter.
Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
1 lb. pasta
Kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup - 5/8 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, divided
1 medium - large regular lemon or Meyer lemon, very thinly sliced into rounds, seeds removed. (See Note below about how to reduce the bitterness in the lemon).
2-4 oz. Parmesan, finely grated, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Note: To reduce any potential bitterness in the lemon, immerse it for two minutes in boiling water. Remove, cool for a minute, then slice very thinly, discarding the ends. Do not cut off the peel - keep both the peel and the pith.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling generously salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions (the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce).
Meanwhile, heat half of the butter in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium until melted. Add the lemon slices and cook, stirring often, until softened and bottom of pot is browned in spots, 5–7 minutes. Using tongs, transfer one-third of the lemon slices to a plate. Set aside.
Just before the pasta is al dente, scoop out 2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Add 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid to the butter sauce. (This may seem like a lot of liquid, but it will thicken once the remaining ingredients are added.) Add the remaining butter, a piece at a time, whisking until each piece is incorporated before adding more, until the sauce is emulsified and creamy.
Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Cook, stirring often and adding Parmesan, a little at a time, until it's as cheesy as you desire. Once all of the cheese is added, continue to cook, still stirring, until the cheese is melted and sauce is creamy and clings to pasta, about 2-3 minutes. If the sauce looks very thick, add more pasta cooking liquid, 1–2 tablespoons at a time to thin it (saucier is ideal as it will thicken as it cools). Remove the saucepan from the heat and sprinkle with an almost ridiculous amount of pepper (about 2 tsp.); toss once more.
Serve the pasta topped with the reserved lemon rounds and more Parmesan.