Maquette is no Eat, Make, Read but I could not resist posting this recipe I found there and then modified at home. I love lemon on everything! So this pasta dish is perfect. It was so zesty, nutty, and creamy. We loved it. Here’s what it looked like as lunch the next day on our coffee table. We served the pasta with a fresh and spicy arugula salad, including: colorful tomatoes, black berries, shaved pecorino, and pecans. We also filled a pitcher with water and a little pomegranate juice and ice (so fresh and flavorful). We got a nice pain au levain bread and dipped it in olive oil too. Here’s how to make the pasta if you want to try (the original recipe is linked to above). The measurements are not exact. I’m a helter skeltor cooker. Just taste as you go and make it so that you love it:
Spaghetti with Marscapone, Lemon, brussel sprouts and pinenuts
serves two
- 1/4 cup of juice from one lemon (about 1/4 cup if not more)
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt & fresh pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 pound spaghetti
- 5 cups (baby) fresh spinach, washed, spun dry, and roughly chopped
- brussel sprouts
- 1/2 cup chopped, toasted pinenuts
1 Combine lemon juice, mascarpone, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
1.5 Cook brussel sprouts (the way I cook brussel sprouts is to first steam them in a double boiler pot, then I use a casserole dish and put oil, salt, pepper, lemon, etc. on them and cover them with aluminum foil and bake them in the oven for a while…about 20 minutes)
2 Bring a pot of water to boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta until al dente, taking it off the heat about 1 to 2 minutes before you would normally remove it. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
3 Return the pasta to the pot, and set over low heat. Stir in the mascarpone sauce. Add the spinach and toss so that the spinach begins to wilt. Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water (more if necessary) to keep the sauce fluid but not too watery.
4 Continue to cook and toss until the spinach is cooked. Add the pinenuts & brussel sprouts and stir to combine. Serve immediately. Yum!!!
