Ready in about 15 minutes, this lemon pepper pasta is one of our favorite pasta dishes. It is bursting with flavor, and it’s perfect for a regular weeknight dinner or guests.
2lemons4 teaspoons zest and 6 tablespoons juice, Notes 2,3
3tablespoonsbutter 45 g/ 1.6 oz, Note 4
3tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil
½cupParmesan 50 g/ 1.8 oz, Note 5
¾teaspoonfine sea salt or Kosher Note 6
1teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper or to taste
Instructions
Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water boils, add salt generously. Cook the spaghetti al dente. Remove about ½ cup of pasta water before draining the pasta.
While the pasta cooks, prepare the rest of the ingredients; everything should be ready as soon as the pasta is al dente.
Lemons: Wash the lemons with hot water and rub them dry. Zest the yellow skin, nothing of the white peel (bitter). Juice the lemons.
Prepare ingredients: Grate the cheese finely and set it aside. Chop the parsley and set it aside. Grind the pepper now if you want to measure out the amount you need.
Sauce: Start making the sauce about one minute before the pasta is done.
Gently heat the butter and the oil in a large pan. The butter should melt, but the mixture should not get too hot, or the Parmesan clumps. Add lemon juice and zest, Parmesan, chopped parsley, sea salt, and pepper. Add about ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water and the drained spaghetti.
Toss well with two spoons until the noodles are coated with sauce. Add a little more pasta water if necessary and toss again. Adjust the taste with more salt and pepper if required.
Notes
You can use other pasta shapes if you like.
Preferably organic and unwaxed as you will need their zest.
One lemon weighs about 4.5 oz (130 g). I was able to zest 2 teaspoons lemon zest and press 3 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon so that you will need a total of 3-4 teaspoons lemon zest (to taste) and 5-6 tablespoons juice.
I have unsalted most of the time; if using salted, adjust the amount of salt you need for the dish accordingly.
Freshly grated Parmesan from a block of cheese
If using table salt, start with less and add more to taste.