Pasta al limone. I can’t think of a
plate of food that shines a light on
lemon flavour in quite the same
way. Pasta, lemon and Parmesan
come together in alchemy to create
something worthy of any table.
I tested out a lot of pasta al limone
recipes before I landed here. Some
had cream, some had finely chopped
lemon but none came close to the
creaminess of this one and none was
as easy.
The one-pan method (where
you cook the pasta and sauce in one
pan) was made for pasta al limone.
The starchy water it creates is exactly
what is needed to thicken the lemony
sauce and coat the pasta. I like to keep
this pretty simple. I have suggested
some basil as an option at the end,
but these simple lemony noodles
are enough on their own and a true
pantry pasta. If you like, you could
add some greens or even stir though
some warmed cannellini beans.
Serves 4
400g spaghetti or linguine
2 large unwaxed lemons
1 clove of garlic, peeled and
bashed but kept whole
100ml olive oil
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
50g salted butter or vegan butter
40g Parmesan or vegan
Parmesan-style cheese
(I use a vegetarian one),
grated
½ a bunch of basil (15g), leaves
picked and torn (optional)
Fill the pasta pan
Put 400g spaghetti or linguine into
a large lidded saucepan. Grate in
the zest of 2 large unwaxed lemons
and add 1 clove of garlic, peeled and
bashed but kept whole, 100ml olive
oil and 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt.
Add water and cook
Add 1 litre boiling water, cover with a
lid and bring to the boil. As soon as it
boils, remove the lid and simmer for
8 minutes, using a pair of tongs to
turn the pasta in the thickening
pasta water every 30 seconds or so
as it cooks.
Add the lemon juice
Once the pasta has had 8 minutes,
squeeze in the juice of one of the
zested lemons and simmer for a final
2 minutes with the lid off.

Finish the pasta
Once almost all the water has
evaporated, take the pan off the
heat, stir in 50g salted butter or
vegan butter and 20g grated
Parmesan or vegan Parmesan-style
cheese and leave to sit for a minute
or two, so the pasta can absorb
most of the remaining water and
form a lemony sauce. Taste and add
more salt, lemon juice and butter
or olive oil as needed. Tangle into
4 bowls and finish with the rest of
the Parmesan and ½ a bunch of
torn basil leaves, if you like.