Thursday, July 30, 2009

Pioneer Woman's Baked Lemon Pasta



When I saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman's site, I just KNEW that I was meant to make it. So I saved it until the very right time, and went in for the kill. and I was NOT disappointed. I altered the ingredients here to make a smaller portion, halving the recipe. This made about enough for 4 people, using as a side dish.

1 (7 oz.) package thin spaghetti
1/4 stick of butter (2 tablespoons)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped (if desired)
Juice of about 1 1/2 more lemons

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Cook your spaghetti al dente and set aside, in the dish you plan to bake in (I used an 8x8 pan, but I think it looks ultra cute in a bowl!)
In a skillet, heat the butter and olive oil on low heat. Once butter is melted, throw in your garlic. Then, squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon into the pan and turn off the heat.
Add the sour cream and stir until combined. Add the lemon zest and salt. Taste and make sure it's salty enough.
Pour the mixture over your pasta, and stir together.
Bake, covered, for 15 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Squeeze MORE lemon over the top, top with parmesan cheese, as much as you like, and then the parsley. Give another squeeze of lemon juice to top it all off. At this point, I stuck it all back in the oven to get the Parmesan a little melty and yummy.

Ree says to serve with a loaf of french bread, and a green salad, which is how I would like to eat it. But if you've got a meat eating man, grill him up a chicken breast to go with it and have yourself your salad!


My review: Evereything I thought it would be and more! This was absolutely delicious. Ree suggests that (if you want), you could put it in the fridge after adding the sauce and have it as a cold pasta salad, and I may try that as my next venture. YUM! You'll enjoy this, honest!