Recipes · Pasta

Pasta al Limone

Tastes like the Amalfi coast and comes together in the time it takes to boil pasta.

A bowl of spaghetti in a silky lemon butter sauce with lemon zest

AI-generated photo.

Where I grew up, lemons are the size of your fist and people put them in everything. This is the version for a hot night, when nobody wants to stand at the stove.

It's bright and silky, not sour, as long as most of the lemon goes in at the end.

con amore, Lia 💚

Ingredients

Method

  1. Cook the pasta

    Boil the pasta in salted water until 2 minutes short of al dente. Save 2 cups of pasta water.

  2. Start the sauce 2 min

    Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the lemon zest and let it warm for a minute.

  3. Toss 2 min

    Add the pasta and a big splash of pasta water and toss until the pasta is al dente and the liquid has thickened.

  4. Finish off the heat

    Take the pan off the heat. Add the cheese and the lemon juice, tossing fast and adding water as needed until glossy. Taste, adjust with salt, pepper and more juice, and serve.

Where it goes wrong

Too much heat, too soon.

  • Boiling the lemon juice makes it taste harsh, so it goes in off the heat.
  • Adding the cheese to a hot pan makes it clump. Let the sizzle stop first.

Keep cooking

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Lia and her family are AI-generated characters. These recipes follow traditional methods and are still being kitchen-tested. If something doesn't work, please tell us at hello@liavellari.com.