Easy Lemon & Parmesan Pasta by Hetty McKinnon

This beautifully illustrated vegetarian cookbook by bestselling author Hetty McKinnon features modern, easy, and healthy recipes for a new generation of families. Dreaming up flavorful yet nutritious meals, night after night, is one of the greatest challenges in home cooking. The secret to success is developing a repertoire of family classics--simple, adaptable, and nourishing recipes that you will want to cook time and time again. In Family, Hetty McKinnon shares her approach to modern, hearty, and healthy comfort food that is powered by vegetables. Some of these recipes are heirlooms, passed on from her mother, others are old family favorites, and many are healthier variations on much-loved food. With everything from a deconstructed falafel salad of roasted chickpeas and fresh greens to an earthy miso brown butter pasta with sage to sticky banana golden syrup dumplings, this book provides fun, uncomplicated food for everyone. Interwoven with McKinnon's recipes are family stories from home cooks around the world. Family teaches home cooks how to build a repertoire of crowd pleasing, flavorful vegetarian meals and shows families how to successfully eat healthily together.

From Hetty: "This pasta sauce begins and ends with lemon. Achingly simple, there is no “sauce” per se. Instead there are lemons, both juice and zest, combined with olive oil and generous amounts of Parmesan, which intermingle seamlessly with each piece or strand of pasta. Traditionally, lemon is teamed with spaghetti—spaghetti al limone—but I also like it with short pasta, particularly farfalle. This is a perfect one-bowl pasta dish."

 

SERVES 4

1. In a large serving bowl, add the lemon juice and slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Stir in the Parmesan and a pinch of sea salt.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add the pasta, stirring. Cook according to the package instructions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup (125 ml) of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.
3. Add the hot pasta straight into the serving bowl and, using tongs, toss through to coat the pasta in the lemon oil. Add a few splashes of the pasta cooking water to loosen up the oil.
4. To serve, scatter over some lemon zest, if using, and parsley and season with sea salt and black pepper. Finish with more Parmesan and a final drizzle of olive oil.

TIP:

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