Lemon Spaghetti

As I mentioned the other day, I am staying at Shane’s parents’ house this week and next while they’re away. Shane comes down to hang out on the weekends but otherwise, I’m on my own. While I love planning and cooking meals for the two of us when I’m home, it’s sort of nice to have more freedom these 2 weeks. I’ve been enjoying many meatless meals (a meal isn’t a meal unless it includes meat in Shane’s book), including roasted veggies and salads and pasta.

Yesterday I spent a good portion of my day catching up on visiting and commenting on some of my favorite blogs; it was rather embarrassing how far behind I’d fallen and was starting to stress me out! I hadn’t figured out what I was going to do for dinner but I wanted something simple and quick. While catching up at Pamela’s site, Cookies with Boys, I saw a lemon spaghetti dish and my dinner decision was made. I was able to throw the meal together in under 15 minutes and it was absolutely delicious! Though I followed the recipe almost exactly as written this time (I did use a bit less olive oil), I think it’s pretty versatile and could be customized with different herbs and more or less lemon juice/zest to adjust the flavors according to personal preferences. I’ll definitely make it again – I think the lemon sauce would be great with shrimp!

Lemon Spaghetti

1 pound spaghetti

2/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.