What could get more delicious than pasta, butter, cream, and cheese? This pasta is the ultimate comfort meal. Soft and tender noodles coated with a rich and creamy sauce. The lemon adds some acidity that breaks up the rich flavor from the cream and butter.
In my opinion, Parmesan cheese is always a given when it comes to making pasta. The Parmesan adds an umami flavor to complete the dish. And don’t forget the salt and pepper! They will enhance the flavors and pull everything together. Twenty minutes from start to finish is all you will need for this dish. It’s easy, minimal fuss, and sure to please everyone!
DETAILS
If you are looking to make this dish in as little time as possible, boxed pasta is the way to go. But if you have a bit of time to spare, I suggested making some homemade pasta. I own a pasta attachment for my stand mixer, and it makes beautiful pasta in a pinch. All you need for homemade pasta is all-purpose flour, eggs, olive oil, and salt.
When you are making pasta, it is important to salt the water. You want enough salt to absorb into the pasta noodles, but too much salt will ruin the flavor. A good rule of thumb is no less than 1 1/2 tbsp of salt per pound of pasta.
Creamy Lemon Fettuccine
serves 3 - 4 people as a main
prep time - 5 minutes
cooking time - 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
8 oz of dry or 13 oz of fresh fettuccine pasta
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/3 - 1 cup of reserved pasta water
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 - 1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp of kosher salt
1/4 tsp of cracked black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the dry pasta and cook until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil and butter on medium heat.
Add the minced garlic and saute until the garlic turns light brown.
Add the heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Simmer the until the sauce has thickened slightly, and the pasta is cooked.
Drain the pasta and reserve the pasta water. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss.
Add 1/3 - 1 cup of pasta water to the sauce, depending on how saucy you like your pasta.
Add the Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and toss. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. You can add more salt, pepper, lemon juice, and or Parmesan cheese.
Serve immediately. The longer the pasta sits, the more the noodles will absorb the sauce, and it will become less saucy.