LEMON SPAGHETTI (SPAGHETTI RISOTTATI AL LIMONE) – Recipe by Piero Benigni – This pasta dish is really tasty and immediately conquers all who happen to enjoy it for the first time. The peculiar cooking makes it flavoured and creamy, with an intriguing bitterish final mouthfeel.
As you can see from the Italian name, spaghetti are “risottati” (cooked in a risotto-like manner). In fact, after an initial limited pot boiling, cooking goes on in the pan by adding pasta water a little at a time as done with broth in risottos. This way of cooking forces starch to come out from the pasta and creates a thick and creamy fully enjoyable gravy.
Ingredients for 2 people
- 180 gspaghetti (6 1/2 oz)
- 1lemon (organic)
- 1 spoonolive oil
- 15 gbutter (1/2 oz)
- chili pepper (red hot, at taste)
- salt (at taste)
- black pepper (at taste)
Tools for lemon spaghetti
- Pot
- Pan 11″ diameter
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Ladle
- Wooden fork
- Colander
- Grater
- Juicer
Getting ready
Wash and dry the lemon then grate half of the zest. Cut the remaining half in very thin slices avoiding the bitter white skin below and cut in very thin strips as shown in the final picture. Prepare a tablespoon of lemon juice and have it at hand. Fill the pasta pot with just the half of the normally needed water, add a little salt and put it on a good flame. Bring it to a boil and add spaghettis.
Soon after pour a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan, let it heat up then add butter. Turn off the flame, let the butter melt, add the grated lemon zest. Be careful: this zest must not brown!
In the picture: the sautéing pan with olive oil and butter, grated zest and some red hot chili pepper is waiting for half-cooked spaghettis
Cooking lemon spaghetti
After 4 minutes of boiling (this is about half of the cooking time) drain spaghettis but save all the water. Add spaghettis into the pan and put it on a high flame. Pour the tablespoon of lemon juice and half a ladle of the pasta water and start cooking.
In the picture: starting cooking in the pan
Stir spaghettis almost continuously in a circular motion and add more pasta water, half a ladle at a time, when the previously poured one has been absorbed. This little water in the pan should always simmer, so use a high flame. This motion forces starch to come out from the pasta and join that contained in the pasta water. You can see the gravy more and more creamy as cooking goes on. Before the cooking is done taste, check salting and adjust if necessary.
When spaghettis are “al dente” turn off the flame and make sure the gravy is abundant and creamy (but not watery) so if necessary reduce it or add one or two tablespoons of pasta water. Serve with a topping of zest strips and some ground black pepper if you like. This dish must be enjoyed as soon as ready and there is no sense in keeping it in the fridge since it would lose most of the scent.
In the picture: the almost continuous circular stirring