We were supposed to meet friends at a local church Italian Festival at 5pm.  We didn’t see them, didn’t see a lot of ‘festival” and it started raining.  We came home.

Victor, who had been eyeing my most recent copy of La Cucina Italiana announced he was cooking dinner.  I, of course, am no fool.  I agreed heartily and left the kitchen.

The latest issue is The Pasta Issue.  Pasta to an Italian is like – well…  Pasta to an Italian.  They just go together like Fred and Ginger, or Fred and Ethel, or Ethel and Merman.  A perfect pairing no matter how you say it.

Tonight’s pasta was Linguine al Limone.  Linguine with Lemon.  An interesting combination and one neither of us had tried before.  And we had all the ingredients!

Linguine al Limone

  • 1 pound linguine
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 2 lemons
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for sprinkling
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp whole milk
  • 3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped chives

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente.  Meanwhile, place egg yolks in a large bowl.  Grate the zest of 1 lemon into the bowl.  Add cheese and pepper; whisk to combine, then whisk in cream, milk, parsley, chives, and generous pinch of salt.

When pasta is al dente, drain and return to pot.  Immediately add egg mixture and toss together to combine well, then divide among serving bowls.  Grate fresh lemon zest (from the remaining lemon) and cheese over the top.  Serve immediately.

This totally rocked.  Totally and Completely.  As in I cleaned my plate.  Totally and Completely.

It absolutely had everything going for it.  The flavors were perfect, nothing was overly-pronounced (I won’t say I was concerned about the amount of lemon, but I did think it would be stronger) and it was perfectly balanced.  I was impressed.  So was Victor.

The best thing about this is Victor is going to make ALL of the pasta recipes in the magazine!  Monday Pasta Day is being introduced – hopefully starting tomorrow!

I’ll supply the bread.

Speaking of…

Another loaf of the no-knead bread.  I brushed butter and garlic on top before I baked it.

Yum.

I can’t wait for dinner tomorrow!