Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano

This is one of my very favorite ways to eat spaghetti during the summer--simple and clean, covered in just the right amount of lemon and Parmesan with a hint of cream. Yum. This dish is on high rotation in my kitchen these days; it's one of the easiest pastas in my arsenal--you can whip the sauce together as the pasta is cooking and it's a one-pot meal, so there's almost no clean-up time after dinner's over. It doesn't get much better than that. Also, this recipe is one that you can play with until it's perfectly suited to your tastes--the below is what I love, but if you want to add more lemon, go right ahead! More greens? Feel free. And if you want a protein mixed in there, I imagine shrimp would be delicious.

P.S. I'm so happy that Memorial Day weekend is finally here! I'm packing up my puppy Suz Monster and checking out for the weekend in a few hours to head out east to Montauk (one of my most-loved places). What are you guys doing for the long weekend? And more importantly, what are you planning on cooking? xo

Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano
Serves 4  
Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti
Salt
3 lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil , plus additional for serving
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus additional for serving
Ground black pepper
Small handful fresh basil or arugula leaves, shredded

Directions:
Boil the spaghetti in well-salted, boiling water, according to the package directions. Use a large, wide-bottomed pot. (You’ll have fewer dishes to wash if you use this pot to assemble the dish as well.)

Meanwhile, zest the lemons until you have a little shy of a tablespoon of zest. Juice lemons — you’ll have anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon juice.

Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water. Dry out your pot, then boil the olive oil, cream, zest and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water together for two minutes over high heat. Return pasta to pot and stir until coated. Add the cheese and 1/4 cup lemon juice and toss everything together quickly. Add more pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, if you’d like your dish a little looser. Quickly taste a strand of pasta and see if you want to add any remaining lemon juice. Stir in basil or arugula and season generously with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately, serving each portion with a sprinkle of coarse salt, a fresh grind of black pepper, and a few gratings of extra Parmesan.