Linguine al Limone

Last updated on April 9th, 2019

I’m on a lemon kick. As you might recall, last week I offered you an addicting batch of Lemon Wheel Cookies. For dinner last night, I served old-world Chicken and Lemon Polpettine. And for lunch today, I tucked into a plate of Linguine al Limone. Here’s the step-by-step recipe for this brightly-flavored Italian classic:

To start, set a large pot of heavily salted water over high heat.

Then grab a lemon…

And, with the help of a vegetable peeler, remove 2 long strips of peel, as shown.

Cut the peelings into thin julienne strips, and set them aside.

Now finely grate the remaining lemon zest, and knock it into a large pot or Dutch oven. You could throw a couple of finely-diced garlic cloves into the pot, too, just as I sometimes do. Garlic lends a little “zing” to Linguine al Limone.

Cut the lemon in half, and squeeze each half into a small cup or bowl. You should end up with at least 2 tablespoons of juice.

While gasping in horror, add 1 cup of heavy cream to the lemon zest.

When the water comes to an excited boil, add the linguine, and stir gently until the pasta is fully submerged. When the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat just a little and let the pasta cook gently until it’s barely al dente — about 8 minutes. (Hint: set your timer.)

While the pasta is cooking, put the cream mixture over medium heat, and bring it to a simmer.

Then grab 8 tablespoons of COLD butter…

And whisk them, one at a time, into the cream until the butter melts.

Pasta. Cream. Butter. Obviously Linguine al Limone is a low fat/low carb dish.

(In my dreams.)

Back to the pasta pot! Just before the 8 minute mark, scoop up 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water…

And stir it into the cream mixture.

Then use tongs to pull up about 1/3 of the linguine…

And drop it into the cream, while tossing gently to coat.

Then add a handful of finely-grated Parmesan to the cream, stirring or tossing until the cheese melts.

Bit-by-bit, keep adding the pasta to the cream…

Along with a handful of Parmesan cheese. Stir or toss to coat.

Finally, stir in the reserved lemon juice, and remove the pot from the heat.

NOTE: At this stage, the cream sauce will seem rather thin. It will turn luxuriously thick as it cools.

For each serving, twirl strands of linguine around a long, 2-pronged fork…

And let the linguine slide, spiral-like, onto a plate.

Garnish each serving with some of the julienne lemon strips…

And finish the dish with a devil-may-care dusting of coarsely-ground black pepper. Enjoy with toasted garlic bread, a green salad, and limitless goblets of Sauvignon Blanc.

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Here’s the printable: