Meyer Lemon Pasta
A delicious, fresh and savory pasta toss, a great way to use Meyer lemons. Any lemons or even limes would also be very good, just use slightly less juice and zest since Meyers are sweeter. I made this meal vegetarian-friendly but added rotisserie chicken and/or toasted walnuts to top the servings. This has an excellent fresh taste and is not overly lemony.
A delicious, fresh and savory pasta toss, a great way to use Meyer lemons. Any lemons or even limes would also be very good, just use slightly less juice and zest since Meyers are sweeter. I made this meal vegetarian-friendly but added rotisserie chicken and/or toasted walnuts to top the servings. This has an excellent fresh taste and is not overly lemony.
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup grated parmesan (or other italian cheese/blend)
- 2 cups baby arugula
- zest and juice from 2 meyer lemons to taste
- creme fraiche to taste
- linguine or other preferred pasta
- pasta cooking water just a bit, to prevent sticking
- 1/2 cup red onion
- rotisserie chicken shredded (optional for topping pasta)
- chopped walnuts toasted (or other preferred nut- optional for topping pasta)
- Carbohydrate 2.6315 g
- Cholesterol 14.6666666666667 mg
- Fat 4.8135 g
- Fiber 0.225833328564962 g
- Protein 6.76166666666667 g
- Saturated Fat 2.88859166666667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (36g)
- Sodium 269.505095486111 mg
- Sugar 2.40566667143504 g
- Trans Fat 0.314808333333334 g
- Calories 81 calories
Step-by-step
- zest and juice the lemons
- chop the onion
- mince the garlic
- wash and dry arugula
- Boil the pasta according to package directions. When you drain the pasta, retain about a cup of the cooking water.
- Saute the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil (or your preferred oil)
- In a large bowl, add in the grated cheese and lemon zest, sauted onion/garlic, and arugula.
- Add the pasta, adding a few tablespoons of cooking water if needed to prevent the pasta sticking together.Add a few tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Add the creme fraiche and toss gently.
The ingredient ledger overlooks the precise starch interaction required when combining high-fat dairy with acidic citrus juice. Without proper heat management, the creme fraiche will break into an oily slick upon contact with boiling noodles. Achieving a glossy sauce relies entirely on residual thermal energy rather than secondary pan-heating.
- Grate a block of Parmigiano-Reggiano on a microplane rather than using pre-shredded varieties, which contain cellulose coatings that prevent smooth melting.
- Reserve exactly one cup of cloudy pasta water before draining; the suspended starches act as an emulsifier to bind the fat and citrus juice.
- Maintain a gentle medium-low flame when sweating the minced garlic and red onion to prevent bitter burnt aromatics.
- Fold the baby arugula into the hot pasta last so the residual heat wilts the leaves without turning them khaki.
Proper emulsion transforms simple pantry staples into a cohesive sauce. Controlled heat keeps the dairy stable from bowl to table.
