New York Times recipe: Creamy, lemony pasta

This 15-minute pasta lets you decide how much effort to put in: If you’ve had a day and need an easy, no-nonsense meal, then make it as-is and use kitchen shears to cut your spring onions. If you’re feeling slightly more ambitious, then make a topping that adds texture, vibrant green colour and more lemony flavour to the dish (see tip). But don’t cut corners when it comes to the yogurt: Use a thick, strained whole-milk yogurt like labneh, Greek or skyr, as it will give the finished dish an irresistibly rich and tangy taste.

Ingredients:

Salt flakes and black pepper

500g short curly pasta, such as cavatappi, fusilli or farfalle

1 large lemon, zested and juiced (about 1 tbsp zest and 3 tbsp juice)

A heaping ¾ cup grated Parmesan, plus more as needed

¼ cup labneh or other thick, strained whole-milk yogurt, such as Greek or skyr, drained if necessary

2 spring onions, green and white parts, sliced

Preparation:

Step 1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil, and cook until just shy of al dente, 2 to 3 minutes less than the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta, then return to the pot on the stove over medium-low heat.

Step 2 Stir in ¾ cup of the pasta water and half the lemon juice. Add several grinds of black pepper, then gradually add the Parmesan, stirring vigorously between additions to prevent clumping, until a silky sauce has formed. Add a tablespoon of water at a time as needed to make a creamier sauce if it looks dry. Stir in the labneh, remaining lemon juice, lemon zest and spring onions until creamy and combined, about 1 minute more. Season with salt as needed. Finish with another grind of pepper and serve immediately.

TIP:

To make a lemony spring onion topping, combine 4 sliced spring onions with 1/4 cup coriander leaves and stems roughly chopped or torn, the juice of half a lemon and a pinch or two of salt. Serve over the finished pasta.

Serves 4

Total time: 15 minutes

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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