One of the easiest pasta dishes you will ever make in your life is Giada's Lemon Spaghetti. If you are a lemon lover like me, tempt your tastebuds and make this dish! It's the perfect light meal to enjoy after a hard day at work because the total time to make it is 20 minutes from start to finish.
The longer the pasta sits in the lemon sauce, the better it gets. The lemon sauce ingredients are olive oil, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, and chopped fresh basil.
What Makes This Lemon Pasta So Delicious?
One of my favorite Italian chefs is Giada De Laurentiis. Her way of cooking just speaks to me. Who am I kidding? Italian cooking in general speaks to me. There is not a pasta dish out there that I don't love.
As I stated above, the lemon sauce is the star of this dish. Place the olive oil, Parm, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well and set the bowl aside. This is the delicious sauce that the pasta will be tossed in.
Cook the spaghetti according to package directions in a large pot of boiling salted water. Of course, if you are up for the challenge, you can use my recipe for making homemade pasta noodles from scratch.
Drain the pasta water but reserve one cup of the cooking liquid. This will be used to thicken the lemon sauce.
Add the spaghetti to the lemon sauce, then toss with the zest and the chopped basil. Toss with the reserved cooking liquid about 1/4 cup at a time to moisten the sauce. It took me about 1/2 cup total but it depends on your preference.
What to Pair With This Dish
Giada's lemon spaghetti dish is the perfect recipe that can be used as a main dish, or paired with chicken cutlets or a piece of grilled fish for the perfect side dish.
You can find the original recipe for her lemon spaghetti here.
Luscious Lemon Recipes
- Frosted Lemon Cookies from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
- Greek Meatball Soup from Art of Natural Living
- Lemon Chicken with Orzo from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
- Tuna Steaks with Lemon Caper Sauce from That Recipe
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Giada's Lemon Spaghetti
Spaghetti cooked nad basted in a lemon sauce for the perfect tart bite of deliciousness!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup of olive oil
- 2/3 cup of Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 pound of spaghetti noodles
- 1/3 cup of chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper together. Set aside.
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente, which means tender but still firm. Drain the pasta but save 1 cup of the pasta water.
- Add the spaghetti noodles to the lemon sauce. Add some of the pasta water to make the lemon sauce creamy. Start with 1/4 cup until you get the consistency you want.
- Toss the pasta with the basil and lemon zest. Allow the pasta to rest in the lemon sauce for 10 minutes before serving. Toss one more time before plating.
- Top with more grated Parmesan cheese and a slice of lemon.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 569Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 705mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 11g