Pasta al Limone

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4.60 from 5 votes

This is the ultimate recipe for perfect, foolproof Pasta al Limone that's bursting with flavor!

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Author: Chris Joe

Ingredients

8 oz pasta
2 tbsp lemon juice approximately 1oz
3 oz parmigiano reggiano finely grated
1 tbsp lemon zest
salt to taste
5 tbsp butter 70g or 2.5oz
1 cup pasta water reserved from cooking pasta

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat while you bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Add salt to the boiling water, and cook pasta of choice to al dente. Transfer pasta directly to the butter.
Turn the heat off, then add lemon juice and 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water to the pasta and butter. Stir until combined.
Add finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese and continue stirring until an emulsified sauce has formed.
Serve immediately in a warm plate or bowl and top with lemon zest and more parmigiano reggiano.

Notes

Use High Quality Ingredients

You only need a few ingredients to make Pasta al Limone so it's important to use the highest quality you can find so they can really shine! For me, this means:

bronze cut pasta - Bronze-cut pasta is cut and shape via perforated metal plates made of bronze; it produces a finished pasta that has a more rough and porous texture. This texture helps the pasta absorbs sauces better and ultimately tastes and feels better in your mouth!

freshly squeezed lemon juice and freshly zest lemon - try to avoid bottled lemon juice. You will notice a huge difference using fresh lemon juice. I recommend using an organic lemon, as you'll be consuming the zest from the peel.

freshly grated cheese - I recommend grating your own cheese to avoid any of the additives or preservatives that are used for pre-grated cheese (this is to prevent the cheese shreds from melting).

great butter - my favorite is unsalted Kerrygold butter.

Pasta Water - Pasta Water is a key ingredient in all of your favorite pasta sauces but did you know the temperature of the water can make or break your sauce? I like to cool my pasta for 1-2 minutes before using it to make the sauce - I've found that this helps the cheese not get clumpy (vs. when using scalding hot water). If you are using a thermometer, the water should ideally be at 150F.

Serve in a Warm Bowl - Cheese and dairy based pastas have a tendency to clump up and congeal once they've sat out for a few minutes. Prevent this from happening by serving the pasta in a warm bowl! I fill a bowl with hot water then dump it out and dry it before plating the Pasta al Limone. It will keep the pasta and sauce hot and creamy while enjoying it!

Storage + Reheating - You can store any leftover Pasta al Limone in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. The texture of pasta will inevitably change when stored in the fridge; however, it will taste just as delicious (if not even better!)

Reheat any leftover Pasta al Limone in the microwave with a wet paper towel on top - this helps "steam" the pasta to loosen up any noodles that have stuck together as the sauce congealed.

Nutrition