The Sunday Times Magazine - UK (2022-05-01)

Spaghetti

with lemon

and basil

I have a real soft spot for lemon

in savoury cooking. Not just

a squeeze of lemon in a salad

dressing or over fish, but lemon

as a dominant flavour. Lemon

pasta — mellow and creamy

— is one of my favourites,

and the addition of coarsely

chopped basil here lends an

extra layer of sweet freshness.

If you don’t have any fresh basil,

you could use mint or even

parsley instead. Alternatively,

just the lemon with no herbs,

but a very generous grinding

of black pepper.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 400g spaghetti


• Zest of 2 lemons


• 120ml single cream


• 50g grated parmesan


• A small bunch of fresh basil,
  coarsely chopped

01 Bring a large pan of

generously salted water to the

boil. When the water begins to

gallop, add the spaghetti and

cook al dente as per the

instructions on the packet.

Scoop a small cup of the

cooking water out of the pan

and set to one side, then drain

the pasta using a colander and

put it back in the pan.

02 Add the lemon zest, cream
and parmesan, along with a
splash of the cooking water.
Don’t add too much water
— just a little to start with —
you can always add more if
you think it needs it. Give
everything a good stir, add
the basil, stir again and season
to taste with salt flakes and
GETTY IMAGES freshly ground black pepper n

The Sunday Times Magazine • 41