pasta

summertime tagliarini

servings
4

method

When I worked at the River Café we used to make a similar dish to this using basil, oil, Parmesan and lemon juice. When I was in Italy last year I came across this recipe, which seems to be an older version and uses parsley instead of basil, and pinenuts to give the sauce a creaminess – almost like a blond pesto. It’s incredibly quick to make, a great one for the summertime, and most people love it. Everyone should make this at least once.

Smash up half of the pinenuts to a paste, then put it into a big heatproof bowl with the rest of the whole pinenuts, the lemon juice and zest, the finely chopped parsley and the extra virgin olive oil. Stir and add the Parmesan and pecorino. What you should have now is a reasonably thick sauce, which you should think of more as a dressing, so taste it and think about how the different flavors are coming through. I want you to balance the flavors so you end up with something quite zingy because, as the sauce heats up and the cheese melts, the flavor of the lemon will calm down a lot. Season with some freshly ground black pepper. Taste it and if you think you haven’t got the balance right, simply add a little more oil and Parmesan.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for your pasta. Sit the sauce bowl on top of the pan while the water’s heating up – this will take the chill out of the sauce and warm it through slightly. When the water starts to boil, remove the bowl and add your pasta to the water. Cook it according to the packet instructions then drain in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the sauce and a little of the reserved cooking water to help loosen it up a bit. The heat from the pasta will melt the cheese, allowing all the lovely sauce to coat it. If you find the sauce is too thick then add a little more water. It’s not supposed to be claggy, thick and miserable, but incredibly silky, fresh and fragrant. Have one last taste to balance the flavours, and serve with a little extra Parmesan shaved over the top and a sprinkle of parsley leaves. Eat immediately.

• from Cook With Jamie

ingredients

• 115g/4oz pinenuts
juice and zest of 2 lemons
• a large bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, half finely chopped and half left whole
• 215ml/7½fl oz extra virgin olive oil
• 150g/5½oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for shaving
• 50g/1¾oz pecorino cheese, freshly grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 500g/1lb 2oz good-quality tagliarini or tagliatelle

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tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...

1. by Nadia on Fri 12 Aug 2011 @ 21:03

Really good, really easy. An original alternative to pesto (Jamie's pesto, BTW, it awesome!!!). Thank you for this great recipe!!

2. by Jayne on Fri 12 Aug 2011 @ 19:08

Absolutely scrummy. I made it with basil instead of parsley - delicious! <br />

3. by Natweb on Fri 12 Aug 2011 @ 14:02

Excellent.. Love It!!! I used almonds instead of pine-nuts and still Like it... :P Thanks.

4. by alin on Fri 12 Aug 2011 @ 11:37

@ newbie. don't cook the sauce! you mix all the ingredients in a bowl not in pan on fire. first time i did the lemon pasta dish my parmezan melted in the heated pan. mix the sauce with the warm pasta and then the parmezan will melt and coat the pasta<br />

5. by Tiziana on Fri 12 Aug 2011 @ 10:01

E bravo Jamie... ottima ricetta, deliziosa, fresca e veloce! Anche i miei bimbi sono appassionati di cucina, grazie a te lo sai? Buon fine settimana.

6. by Kirill Dashkovskiy on Wed 16 Feb 2011 @ 14:06

Awesome! One of my favorite summer pastas. But I still find spaghetti alla trapanese slightly better.

7. by Mark the cook on Fri 24 Sep 2010 @ 11:26

I've tried this Pasta and was GREAT!
But I've to say that the best recipe I've tried with pesto is this one I've found in a blog:
http://cucinadibarbara.blogspot.com/2010/09/pasta-with-pesto-green-beans-potatoes.html
Was SUPERB!

8. by Naomi on Thu 08 Oct 2009 @ 13:42

I just made it...are you sure you need two lemons?....it tastes of extreme lemon....someone help! xx

9. by gian Banchero on Sun 04 Oct 2009 @ 08:36

Delicious Jamie, thank you... But this can be eaten any season!

10. by Claudia on Fri 25 Sep 2009 @ 18:17

Love this pasta dish!
Super easy!
Perfect summer pasta, light and fresh!
My boyfriend loves it!!

11. by Yezen on Wed 18 Mar 2009 @ 20:56

Thanks Mr Jamie ..... Amazing pasta ... I like it parmesan cheese With pasta

12. by Style on Fri 27 Feb 2009 @ 14:56

Wow!

Just made this for my lady and 3 year old daughter. We all woofed it down in minutes. Def one I'll add to my make again list.

13. by newbie on Tue 17 Feb 2009 @ 03:20

My sauce curdled. Where did I do wrong?

14. by Diana D. on Tue 30 Dec 2008 @ 14:10

I just made some, and they are delicious!

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