Lemons and January. I’ve never quite figured out why, but in my little corner of the world, they seem to go together.
The holiday decorations have been stored away, and I’m always ready for a fresh start. I have kitchen and dining linens sporting bright lemons: a table runner, cloth napkins, dish towels, as well as beautiful pasta bowls with delicate lemon designs, courtesy of the sale shelf at Williams Sonoma.
My “lemon love” extends to food as well: veal or chicken piccata, lemon quarters in a roast chicken, yellow gold potatoes bathed in olive oil and roasted with sliced sweet onions and fresh rosemary. And in our house, no fish or seafood escapes a squirt of fresh lemon juice. (Did I mention lemon bars and lemon cheesecake?)
In our outdoor (garage) freezer, there is always a half bottle of limoncello liqueur, which we use every summer for refreshing after-dinner drinks. We serve it either “straight up” or over crushed ice. It is fairly easy to make limoncello at home by steeping lemon peels in a good vodka and mixing with sugar syrup. But there are wonderful commercial brands out there, ours currently being “Pallini” made with lemons from Amalfi.
So, as I was rummaging through the mess that inhabits my outdoor freezer, I spotted our bottle of limoncello. I immediately wondered how I could use the remaining sweet liqueur. What about pasta? Could I make a silky sauce, perhaps with some butter and cream, sort of a version of Alfredo but with a jolt of sweet lemon?
Well, I had to search for a limoncello pasta recipe. This dish was definitely not on my mother’s dinner rotation, but I found it on a cooking website called “Legally Healthy Blonde” (really). It was exactly what I was looking for—a recipe using easily obtained fresh ingredients and relatively simple to make. A feast from the Amalfi coast on a cold January day!
Limoncello Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil or butter
- ½ pound fettuccine
- 8 ounces crème fraiche (or heavy cream, mascarpone or soft cream cheese)
- 1/3 to ½ cup limoncello
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 tablespoons COLD salted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
Directions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- In a separate large pot, add about 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter over medium heat.
- Add the lemon zest and the sliced garlic and sauté just until the garlic is fragrant. Do not allow the garlic to burn.
- While the pot is still on the heat, add the limoncello to de-glaze the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits.
- Let it simmer until the liquid in the pan is almost evaporated.
- Add the crème fraiche and mix together until blended.
- Add the fresh lemon juice and stir until well combined.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan of lemon sauce along with the grated Parmigiano cheese and cold butter.
- Remove the pan from the heat until the butter is completely blended into the sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh chives if desired.
Note: This recipe calls for just a half pound of pasta and would be nice as a first course before a main dish soup like vegetable or minestrone. Or you can use a full pound of pasta and serve it as a main course. I prefer imported dried pasta over fresh, but the choice here is yours.
We don’t know what this January will bring weatherwise. Some of us are hoping for a cold and snowy winter for a change. And as I always say, I know I am in the minority here. But no matter what it might be, this lovely pasta dish will bring thoughts of southern Italy to your dining table.
Remember, don’t save the limoncello for summer!
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