Pasta al Limone 🍋

Instructions

1. 1

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. One of the biggest tricks with pasta is using starchy pasta water. To make that water as starchy as it can be, don't add too much water to the pot. Add the minimal amount you think you will need to fully submerge and cook your pasta.

2. 2

   Heat cream in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, stirring, until it begins to simmer. Stir in lemon zest. Reduce the heat to low and add butter, one tablespoon (15ml) at a time, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated before adding the next piece, until the sauce looks saucy, creamy, and emulsified. Remove from heat.

3. 3

   Add pasta to the pot of salted water and cook according to the package instructions. However, cook 30–45 seconds less than what the box recommends to achieve al dente. Don't worry; the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. If you overcook the pasta, it won't absorb the sauce as well, won't get coated with sauce as well, and will break. Do not add oil to the pasta. Doing so will prevent the sauce from properly attaching to the pasta.

4. 4

   Using tongs, transfer your almost al dente pasta to the cream sauce and put it back on medium heat. Do not drain the pasta water. Sprinkle Parmesan over the pasta and add about ½ cup (120ml) of pasta cooking water that you have left behind in the pot where you cooked the pasta. Keep cooking your pasta in the sauce until the cheese is melted and the pasta is cooked and evenly coated in sauce—just a couple of minutes. You will need to keep adding pasta cooking water. As you keep stirring your pasta, you will notice the liquid gets quickly absorbed, so keep adding pasta cooking water a tablespoon (15ml) at a time to get your pasta silky and saucy. Taste, season generously with salt and pepper, stir in lemon juice, and serve immediately. Feel free to garnish with chives, lemon zest, Parmesan, and/or freshly ground black pepper.