Pasta is one thing we can eat every day and not get sick of – so needless to say we eat a lot of pasta in our house. We had a dear friend for dinner last Sunday, and I wanted to make something easy, but comforting. And of course delicious! This one knocked it out of the park. It was light, but creamy, zesty but salty and all things in between. I used the pasta water to make sauce so there’s no cream or extra fat.

I thought I had made extra for our friend to take home, but it was so good everyone had seconds!

Recipe

• Zest of two Lemons
• 1/2 cup of Lemon juice
• 8 ounces Pancetta
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese – grated
• 2 cups pasta water
• 1 Onion diced
• 4 cloves Garlic – roughly chopped with skin on
• 1 lb of pasta – I used a short one, but you can use whatever you’d like!

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to the directions.

In a separate pan on medium heat, drizzle some olive oil then toss in your onions and cook until soft and translucent. Add in the pancetta and cook until crispy. Drain off some fat and add in the garlic and lemon zest. Ladle 1/2 a cup of pasta water into the pan. Simmer the ingredients for about 5-10 minutes to infuse the flavor in the sauce. Remove the garlic skin.

Ladle your pasta into the pan, and stir to combine with the sauce. Allow to cool slightly, then begin to slowly incorporate the parmesan cheese. If the pasta is too hot, and the cheese clumps together wait a few minutes for it to cool down before beginning again. The sauce should begin to take on a creamy consistency. Depending on your taste for lemons – add the lemon juice slowly and test for taste.

Grab your bowls and dish up!

Bon Appetit!