It doesn’t get any easier than this. Lemon Pasta is inexpensive to make, easy and quick to prepare, and is a delicious lemony, cheesy pasta delight. Lemon Pasta is a perfect main dish or as a side dish served alongside any lightly grilled protein.
I discovered this recipe watching Hoda and Kathie Lee while I was getting a mani/pedi. Devine intervention. I love lemon, in whatever form it comes. Lemon has such a pleasing and uplifting scent. Any lemon carcasses are put through the garbage disposal for a lingering, fresh-smelling aroma. Take a look at a lemon-sour cherry coffee cake I love to bake: Macrina Bakery Lemon Sour Cherry Coffee Cake. Seriously delicious.
The ladies were cooking up dishes made with lemons and the Alberti twins, John & Tony. While downing shots of Limoncello between bites of pasta and Limoncello cake. Looked like a very happy show! Then, Huda and Kathie Lee always have a happy show.
Anyway, I can’t take credit for Lemon Pasta. John Alberti gets all the credit. (As well as the photo.) It’s such an easy and basic recipe. I’m certain every Italian nonna around the world has made something very similar, if not the exact recipe. Don’t leave out the fresh basil. In addition to lemon, I love the flavor and smell of basil – a refreshing and sensory herb. A girlfriend of mine sent me home with a hunk from her garden that I used here. Thanks, Cindy!
I prepared half the recipe for us served with a leftover salmon filet and a big green salad. No garlic bread, unless you love your carbs. There are plenty of carbs in the pasta. (I love carbs, but we need to watch our dietary intake. 
Garlic bread is now on our “I have to have now it or I’ll die” list.) Or it can be made with low-carb pasta or pasta made from quinoa or whole wheat. There are so many options available now.
Get out the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, basil, and linguine. Buon appetito!
- 1 pound linguini
- ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
- Salt & Pepper as needed
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook linguini according to package directions to slightly less than "al dente."
- While the pasta is cooking, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and basil in a large saute pan. Heat over medium heat.
- With tongs, lift the cooked pasta out of the pot and into the saute pan with the lemon sauce. Use tongs to integrate the sauce and pasta. Remove the saute pan from the heat.
- Add grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Lift with tongs until incorporated. Add the fresh basil, and toss again to incorporate.
- Serve with extra grated Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh basil.
Substitute any pasta alternative for linguine: quinoa, bean, gluten-free, whole wheat. Cook according to package directions.
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