Our Cookbook

Italian

One-pot pasta a limone

  • YieldServes 4
  • Prep5m
  • Cook15m
  • Effortweeknight

  • 400g spaghetti or linguine
  • 2 large unwaxed lemons
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and bashed but kept whole
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt
  • 50g salted butter
  • 40g Parmesan, grated
  • 0.5 bunch basil (15g), leaves picked and torn optional
  • 2 courgettes, shaved into ribbons optional

Method

  1. Put the pasta into a large lidded saucepan. Grate in the zest of both lemons and add the bashed garlic clove, olive oil and salt.
  2. Pour in 1 litre of boiling water, cover and bring to the boil. Remove the lid and simmer for 8 minutes, turning the pasta with tongs every 30 seconds or so as it cooks. If using courgettes, drop the ribbons in for the last 2 minutes.
  3. Squeeze in the juice of one of the zested lemons and simmer for a final 2 minutes with the lid off.
  4. Once almost all the water has evaporated, take the pan off the heat. Stir in the butter and grated Parmesan and leave to sit for a minute or two so the pasta soaks up the remaining water and forms a lemony sauce. Taste, add more salt, lemon juice and butter or olive oil as needed.
  5. Tangle into bowls and finish with the rest of the Parmesan and the basil leaves, if using.

Notes

Alternatively fry up the courgettes separately 🤷.