Capellini with Olive Oil, Lemon, and Parsley

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This is another one of those recipes from a cookbook that I have had for a while, but never cooked from. As I leafed through the pages of my Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Pasta cookbook, this one caught my eye. It looked light, fresh, and pretty easy. And it was! Find the original recipe here. I topped it with shredded Parmesan, and served it with cheesy bread and a romaine salad. For dessert, I made Tiramisu with fresh baked pound cake (recipe in following post).

Capellini with Olive Oil, Lemon, and Parsley

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 lemon, zested and juiced, with all of the zest and half of the juice reserved

1 tsp. plus 2 Tbs. salt, plus more, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 lb. cappellini or spaghettini (I used angel hair)

1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (I didn't use a full 1/2 cup, still tasted awesome)

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large fry pan over low heat, warm the oil. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant but not golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest, the lemon juice and the 1 tsp. salt. Season with pepper. Transfer the sauce to a large serving bowl.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the 2 Tbs. salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Add the pasta to the sauce along with the parsley and toss to combine. Add as much of the cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, top with Parmesan cheese, and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Pasta, by Julia della Croce (Oxmoor House, 2006)