Pasta with Caramelized Lemon and Chili
Cooked pasta is tossed with a sauce made with butter, olive oil, the caramelized segments of a lemon, lemon zest and anchovies. To serve, I scattered more anchovy fillets on top of the heap of pasta before sprinkling in chopped parsley.
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon sugar or more, depending on your taste
- 2 anchovy fillets plus more to garnish
- 1 bird's eye chili finely sliced
- pepper to taste
- cooked pasta for one tip: cook in generously salted water and undercook the pasta by about a minute
- grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley plus more to garnish
Instructions
- Zest the lemon and set the grated zest aside.
- Cut off the white pith covering the lemon and discard.
- Cut the lemon into segments and pry off the seeds.
- Boil of cup of water and blanch the lemon segments for a minute (don’t skip this part; otherwise, the lemons will make the cooked dish taste bitter). Scoop out and drain on paper towels.
- Heat the butter and olive oil. Add the blanched lemon segments with the sugar, lemon zest and chili. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and turns a shade darker. Don’t worry if the lemon segments almost liquefy.
- Add the anchovy fillets, breaking them into bits as you stir.
- Throw in the cooked pasta. Season with a little pepper. Toss to coat the noodles with sauce.
- Add the Parmesan and parsley. Toss a couple of times more. Taste and add salt, if needed.
- Twirl the pasta into a shallow bowl. Top with more anchovy fillets, chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.
Notes
Inspired by a recipe in The New York Times.
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