Have you ever been stalked by a dish before? I have and Spaghetti al Limone is it. Recently, I was watching America’s Test Kitchen, which I love, and they were making this wonderfully simple pasta dish with lemon and olive oil. I don’t eat pasta that often because of the carbs but this dish was interesting and simple. I made a mental note to make this, at some point. I subscribe to the ATK website so I didn’t worry about finding the recipe again. I knew it would be there when I was ready.
As I went on about my business, I saw different versions of Spaghetti al Limone on websites and blogs which kept it in the forefront of my mind as a someday recipe to try. I was grocery shopping and thought, “boy, I wish I had that recipe with me because I would buy the ingredients”. Didn’t have it so moved on to the next thing in my life.
Fast forward to another grocery store trip. Saw a copy of America’s Test Kitchen Light & Healthy 2012 on the shelves and picked it up. When I read through it at home, there was the Spaghetti al Limone again. This time, I actually wrote down the items I would need to make the dish so I could pick up at the grocery store. I told my husband about the dish and said that I was going to be making this in the near future. On the next shopping excursion, I did pick up the items.
Fast forward to this week. My hubby was in the kitchen and told me that my lemons were looking a little sad and I’d better use them. I don’t know what came over me but I said (yelled), “okay, I’ll make the silly Sphaghetti al Limone tomorrow”. Okay, I didn’t say silly but this is a g-rated blog so what are you gonna do? Dear hubby was like, “where the heck did that come from?”. Of course, he didn’t know about all the run ins I’d had with this silly dish so he was taken a little off guard.
Fast forward to now. I made the dish, I photographed the dish, we ate the dish and now I’m blogging the dish. All in all, a pretty good stalking experience. I’m so glad the Spaghetti al Limone didn’t give up … It was seriously good.
Recipe adapted from Light & Healthy 2012 by America's Test Kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- salt and pepper
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp finely grated onion
- 1/4 tsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions to al dente, reserving 1-3/4 cup of cooking water. Drain pasta and set aside.
- Combine 1 tsp of oil, onion and 1/2 tsp salt in now-empty pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently for about 2 - 3 minutes.
- Whisk cornstarch into heavy cream then whisk into pot along with 1-1/2 cups of the reserved cooking water. Bring to a simmer and cook about 2 - 3 minutes.
- Take pan off the heat. Add remaining oil, lemon zest & juice, Parmesan and 1/2 tsp pepper and toss to combine.
- Cover and let stand about 2 minutes.
- Before serving, add remaining reserved cooking water as needed to adjust consistency.
- Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Add extra Parmesan to top before serving.
lovely =) the show re-aired today – and I made it for dinner with some sauteed spinach on the side – it was SO good!
Thx for letting me know – I bet it’s on my DVR so I get to watch it again :-)
I definitely bought a bunch of lemons yesteday…now if only I had picked up some cream, I would be in business! This looks lovely.
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Stephie recently posted … Kitchen Sink Caramel Corn: Guest Post on Around My Family Table
It’s a great recipe … And that’s a lot coming from me because I rarely eat pasta (because of the carbs). This dish is worth the carbs :-)
Hi CJ! i come to your blog through the link you leave in my blog :) really thankful for your nice comments and subscription. i hope i could give you another decent recipes.
you have such an informative blog, and this spaghetti al limone is really worth a try, looks so delish! i’m a big fan of pasta.. nice to know you anyway!
Hugs
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monica adriana recently posted … my grandmother’s favorite
Thank you, Monica :-)
I love simple flavoured pasta dishes the best, and like you I’ve read about this one , but hav eyet to try it out – I wonder if it will stalk me too :)
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Claire recently posted … It’s stopped raining, me and the bees are out and about
You’re in big trouble now, Claire :-) This dish has quite the reputation for stalking until you make it :-)
CJ, you have such a magnificent blog!!! I am now subscribed via email. Have a great evening :)
Thank you, Debbie!
Oh that looks simply fabulous. I love how simple but tasty it sounds. What did you serve it with? A salad?
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Food Jaunts recently posted … Hawaiian Fish Pasta
It would probably go great with a salad and bread but I ate it all by itself :-)
Very pretty pictures.
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Ananya recently posted … Room Service Shepherds Pie
Thx :-)
It doesn’t look silly but very tasty and flavourful!
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Angie recently posted … Smoked Salmon and Lettuce Salad with Orange Cress Dressing
Thank you & thx for stopping by the site, Angie!
Such a great roundup! These look absolutely delicious,
Thx for stopping by the site :-)