Fettuccini with Lemon Sauce

Here’s a quick, easy, wonderful recipe from the New York Times food pages!  The recipe is from Pierre Franey, who was the NYT “60 Minute Gourmet”.    We liked this so much, I had made a half recipe for the 2 of us, and we made it again the next day!    I prefer to make my own fettuccini much more cheaply than purchasing it, but this is even good with supermarket-case fresh pasta. 

Fettuccini with Lemon Sauce

  2        tablespoons  butter

  1        tablespoon  freshly grated lemon zest -- plus more for serving

     ½    pound  fresh or dried fettuccini or linguine (you can use a 9 oz. package)

  4-6    tablespoons  heavy cream

  2        tablespoons  freshly squeezed lemon juice

  2        tablespoons  freshly grated Parmesan cheese -- plus extra cheese to serve on the side

Bring a pot of salted water to boil.

Drop the fettuccini or linguine into the boiling water. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Save a little hot pasta water to thin the sauce if necessary, as the sauce isn’t generous.             

Heat the butter the pasta pot and add the lemon zest.

Add the cream to the butter and lemon zest mixture. Add the pasta and lemon juice and stir until just heated through. Add the Parmesan and toss. If necessary, add a little hot pasta water to loosen the sauce. 

Serve with additional Parmesan and lemon zest on the side.

Yield:  "4 servings"

Adapted from Pierre Franey