Lemon Fusilli

We’ve been in San Diego — land of deliciously warm weather, In-N-Out burgers, fish tacos and pink sunsets.  It’s enough, well, to make a girl forget she has a blog to tend to!  I had all these big plans of posting this and that, but instead, I lingered, I lounged and here we are.

I do have some recipes to reproduce for you from my adventures, but in the meantime, I have this sinfully delicious pasta recipe to share.  It’s officially tied in first place for my favorite pasta ever with this little Caprese number!

What do I love about it so much?  Well, first thing — that lemon cream sauce is kinda the best thing ever to come out of a sauce pot (and I’m not really a heavy cream sauce kind of gal)!  Using fusilli noodles, with all its little twists and turns, the lemon cream is captured beautifully to get a a punch of creamy tart flavor with each bite.  I also love that the tomatoes and greens are kept fresh and raw when added to the bowl, which alleviates the heaviness of the sauce.  It really is quite the special little dish!

Lemon Fusilli
Adapted from Ina Garten

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 cups heavy cream
3 lemons
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound dried fusilli pasta
1/2 pound baby arugula or baby spinach, roughly chopped or left whole, based on preference
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

*Optional: 1 bunch brocolli — florets quickly blanched in a pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes, then placed in an ice bath until ready to toss with the pasta.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, and cook for 60 seconds. Add the cream, the zest from 2 lemons, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken. *TIP* Milk/Cream and an acid (lemon juice) usually result in curdling.  In order to keep the cream from temporarily curdling, use really fresh cream, add the lemon juice slowly while stirring with a wooden spoon. If it does curdle, just keep stirring and it will become smooth and liquid-y again.

While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the package, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain the pasta in a colander and place it back into the pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until most of the sauce has been absorbed in the pasta. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, add the arugula or spinach, Parmesan, tomatoes, and cooked broccoli, if using.

Cut the last lemon in half lengthwise, slice it 1/4-inch thick crosswise, and add it to the pasta. Toss well, season to taste, and serve hot.  Enjoy with your favorite wine (a chilled chardonnay works really well here).  Serves 4 if you’re really hungry, 6 otherwise. Mmm!

Tagged as: arugula, cream, fusilli, lemon, spinach