Quick and Rich Lemon Garlic Spaghetti

A 15 minute budget-dinner worthy of fine dining

This is one of those “wow” dishes that’s packed with so much flavor, you would think it took hours to make. It’s the perfect mix of lemon, garlic, parmesan, black pepper, and a creamy butter/olive oil sauce - made with a dash of starchy pasta water. The toasted bread crumbs are the ideal textural finish and an inexpensive way to amplify the dish. The time it takes to boil the spaghetti is all you need to make the sauce.

Ingredients:

1 lb box of spaghetti

5 cloves of garlic minced

2 lemons, zested and juiced (into the bowl)

2 cups freshly grated parmesan (or finely pre-grated, not the pre-shredded parm)

1/2 stick of unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly chopped chives

2 tablespoons freshly minced basil

1 cup pasta cooking water (removed when the spaghetti is done)

1 teaspoon fish sauce or 1/2 teaspoon minced anchovy (this can be removed if you don’t like the flavor)

4 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 slices of white bread (toasted, set aside)

Instructions:

While the pasta is cooking grab a large stainless steel bowl and add all ingredients to the bowl except the bread crumb.

After you add the ingredients to the bowl, toast 2 slices of white bread. Once they are toasted and dry, cut or mince them roughly on a cutting board.

When the pasta is finished cooking, ladle 1 cup of the cooking water into the stainless steel bowl. Then strain the spaghetti and place in the bowl with all of the ingredients (including the bread crumb but you can set some aside for garnish too). Mix with a pair of tongs, making sure the noodles are heavily coated with the sauce and cheese.

Twirl into the bowl and top with more freshly microplaned or grated parmesan, chives and any extra bread crumbs.

Add chicken or shrimp to take it up a notch, but it will be delicious as is!