Lemon Pasta

Another Meatless Monday means another Monday spent trying to find a somewhat creative recipe.  Just when I thought I was going to have to dig around a bit, I remembered my neighbor had passed along a nice recipe a while back for Lemon Angel Hair Pasta, so I went for it.

Another Successful Meatless Monday

The necessities...

8 ounces angel hair pasta
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup parsley , chopped
4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh Parmesan , cubed
1 scallion , finely chopped
4 tsp. lemon zest , for garnish
Cracked black pepper , to taste
Finishing salt
or truffle salt (optional)
chives (optional)
1 Tbsp. Walnuts for garnish, toasted or roasted and chopped (optional)

The Ingredients

I first boiled water for the pasta and cooked it for about 5 minutes.  While the pasta was cooking, I chopped the parsley and the scallions, zested the lemon and cubed the Parmesan.  Actually, I must admit that I then used my trusty blender to grate the cheese a bit further into pea size.

Once the pasta was done I removed it from the water with tongs and places it into a big bowl.  I added the olive oil, butter, parsley and lemon juice.  I used two full lemons - probably more than the recipe called for but oh well, it tasted good!  After all the ingredients were added to the bowl I tossed everything together using my tongs.  The parsley tended to stick to the side of the bowl, so making sure it was all combined took some effort.

All mixed up!

Another reason I went for the recipe was it actually called for truffle salt.  I am a big fan of recipes that calls for truffle anything.  Nick's co-worker gave him a little jar of the truffle salt from O&Co that I was excited to use.

Truffle Salt

I added a couple of pinches of the salt to flavor, but could have actually added some more - only, though, to add more truffle flavor since the dish did not need any more salt.  I also threw in a bit of pepper, and after tossing everything together a few more times, I plated the pasta in some bowls and garnished with the Parmesan cheese and the lemon zest. 

Plated Pasta Dish

I knew I wanted something to accompany the pasta, and rather than going the healthy route, I went with garlic bread.  I halved a mini loaf of ciabatta bread and drizzled it with some olive oil.  I then sprinkled some garlic powder and finally topped it all off with the minced garlic - I love garlic, which is why I went for the two types.

I placed the bread directly on the oven rack and allowed it to cook for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

Instant Garlic Bread

This pasta was a nice and easy meatless Monday - other than boiling some pasta, no cooking required!  The lemon added a lot of great flavor that was a bit different than the more traditional red or white sauces, but more flavor than a simple oil or butter sauce.  I liked the angel hair pasta because it is seemingly lighter than other types of pasta.  If I were to make this again, I think garnishing with some sort of nut would have added some more bite and texture (the recipe above calls for walnuts, but since we didn't have any on hand, I left them out.)  The garlic bread is something I learned to make in 3rd grade, but will forever make time and again - its such an easy side dish. 

This was a great dish for a busy weekday night!