Pasta with fresh lemon

I tried this one a few days ago and it was pretty well received. It's based on a reciped from On Top of Spagetti by Johanne Killeen and George German, Morrow 2006. I kicked up the lemon flavour quite a bit from what the recipe said, maybe about 50% more juice and lemon. I find the use of butter a bit excessive in the recipes in this book and while I used only a bit less than recommended in this case, I can easily see myself going with 50/50 butter/olive oil next time.

Pasta wise, this recipe really needs the best fresh pasta you can lay your hands on -- the sauce is delicate & flavourful but really needs the best pasta to show it off. I would recommend fusili or penne as the best shapes for the sauce to cling to.

Pasta with Fresh Lemon
8 side dishes or 4 main course.

1 stick (1/4 lb) unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp of lemon rind
juice of 1 1/2 to 2 lemons
1 lb fresh pasta
1 - 1 1/2 grated parmigiano-reggiano
pinch of salt

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water. Drain & reserve 1 cup of the pasta water

2. Melt the butter, salt & lemon zest in a saute pan over low heat

3. Add the lemon juice to the butter & zest combination & combine well.

4. Add the pasta to the saute pan and toss to coat the pasta. Add the cheese at this point. If it seems a bit dry, add a bit of the pasta water.

We had it as a main course, served with a nice salad which really complimented the lemoniness. Bread would be good too, a baguette or maybe an Italian bread.