Lemon Garlic Pasta

When I saw this recipe on https://cookingwithayeh.com/lemon-garlic-pasta/, I knew I’d make it my own. And I did! It had elements of things I already loved, like Artichokes French, or my family’s standard fare, Macaroni with Garlic.

The recipe is easy, and with my changes, remains simple and quick. You can have it on the table in 15 minutes from start to finish. I didn’t find this to have a “lovely creamy silky sauce,” as the recipe promised. It was delicious, and worth making. I like mine soupy, Honey likes his more dry. I put the extra pasta water on my own dish.

I knew in the morning I was making this for dinner, and it really made for an easy day, since there is almost no prep, and I only needed to stand at the stove for a brief time. We had all the ingredients handy, maybe you do too?

Ingredients

Pasta (I used spaghetti), I used about 1/2 lb for two people and had enough for a second meal left over

1-2 Lemons (Using a microplane or cheese grater, grate the zest of the lemon. Once done, squeeze the juice of the same lemon and remove any seeds) I used one really big lemon

Grated Parmesan cheese or Romano cheese (I also used a shredded Mozz/Provolone mix)

2-4 Garlic cloves diced—depends on what you like

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (eyeball this)

*I added 1-2 tablespoons Butter

*I added Black Olives and Artichoke Hearts

Chopped Parsley to taste

Directions

In a large pot, boil heavily salted water. Add the pasta and cook for a couple of minutes less than indicated on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, sauté the garlic in olive oil in a large skillet. Cook on a low heat so that it infuses the oil and doesn't burn it.

Add the lemon zest and juice to the pan with a ladle of pasta water.

When the pasta is ready, add straight to the pan with ½ cup of pasta water to allow it to finish cooking in the pan over medium heat.

Add the grated cheese and mix through continuously. If the pasta is too dry, add another ladle of pasta water and keep stirring for a couple of minutes to create a lovely creamy silky sauce.

Stir in the chopped parsley and its ready to serve! Add a light drizzle of olive oil with more cheese and enjoy.

I added the extras right in with the pasta. You could add red pepper flakes to jazz it up a bit.