This dinner is as simple as it is delicious. Pasta with lemon, cheese and cream. Serve this rich dish with a green salad and a crisp wine to cut through the butter and cream. This is equally great for company or for a quick weekend dinner at home.
Vermicelli al Limone
Vermicelli with Lemon Sauce – Vermicelli al Limone
Ingredients:
- 1 pound Vermicelli
- 4 lemons, zest only (just put the zested lemons in a plastic bag and use them later)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano
- Salt & pepper to taste
Sautéing the Garlic
Preparation:
Set pasta water to boil. Season the water with enough salt so it tastes salty like the ocean.
In the meantime, sauté the garlic in the butter in a large pot, and when it browns discard it. Add half the cream and the zest from the lemon, very finely grated, and keep warm.
When the water boils salt it, cook the pasta, drain it, and stir it into the sauce. At this point, even though the recipe doesn’t call for it, I added 1/3 Cup of minced fresh parsley. Toss for a minute or two over a brisk flame, stirring in sufficient cream to keep the pasta from being dry, and then turn the vermicelli into a serving bowl. Serve at once with the grated cheese on the side.
I made a Blood Orange Gin Rickey to sip while I cooked the pasta. Light, orange/lime flavored—it was the perfect aperitif.
Blood Orange Rickey
1 1/2 oz Gin
Juice of 1 Blood Orange
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Club Soda
Shake the Gin, Juices and Ice well. Strain into ice-filled glass. Top with a little club soda. Garnish with a slice of Blood Orange.
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