Fettucini al Limone

This is basically fettucini alfredo cut with lemon. It's extremely easy to put together, short on ingredients, and deliciously refreshing.

The book says to cook the sauce "until the cream has reduced by half", the same as for alfredo. However, this will result in a thicker sauce than a plain alfredo, thanks to the curdling effect of the lemon juice. Taking the sauce off the heat a bit earlier will result in a higher sauce:pasta ratio while still maintaining alfredo levels of thickness.

Ingredients (for 1 lb dried, store-bought pasta)

• 45mL butter
• 30mL freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 5mL freshly grated lemon zest
• 250mL heavy cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 125mL freshly grated parmesan

Procedure

1. Put the pasta water on to boil.
2. Put the butter, lemon juice, and zest in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, bubble it with the lemon for about 30 seconds.
3. Pour in the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the desired thickness is achieved. Remove from the heat.
4. Meanwhile, add the pasta and some salt to the boiling water and cook al dente.
5. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Return to medium heat and toss with the sauce and the grated parmesan for about 15 seconds until the pasta is well coated. Serve.

Notes

The book says to cook the sauce "until the cream has reduced by about half", same as for alfredo. however, the lemon juice curdles and thickens the cream quite dramatically. So you can get away with taking it off the heat earlier and get the same consistency, or you can cook it down the same amount for a thicker sauce than a typical alfredo.)