We haven’t had pasta in a few weeks, so I was craving it. I also wanted to make something that wouldn’t take a great deal of prep and cooking time since Dennis and I had a meeting at our church tonight. Pasta is usually pretty quick to make if you don’t have a lot of time. While I was waiting for my pasta water to come to a boil, I prepared the ingredients I’d need to add to my dish. I first zested two lemons and set the zest aside on my cutting board. Next, I minced three cloves of garlic and chopped fresh parsley. I measured 1/3 cup of grated parmesan and set it aside as well. I then measured out my crushed red pepper – 1/8 teaspoon – and put that off the side on the cutting board. I was feeling pretty organized. All I would need to do is boil the spaghetti noodles and my ingredients would be ready to add to the cooked pasta when it was ready.

I think this may be my new favorite pasta. It would be great with chicken added as well if you were wanting protein with this dish.

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti noodles

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/3 cup grated parmesan, plus more for topping

• zest and juice of 2 lemons

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 1 cup reserved pasta water

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt for pasta water

• pepper, to taste

Directions

1) Cook pasta according to directions on package.

2) As pasta cooks, or while you’re waiting for the water to boil, zest and juice your lemons and chop the parsley.

3) Drain pasta, reserving one cup of pasta water. In large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil. Add garlic and cook for about 2o seconds, just until it becomes fragrant. Add the crushed red pepper. Next add the cooked pasta noodles and parmesan cheese. Add the pasta water and lemon juice and let cook down for a couple minutes. Top with the lemon zest and parsley and toss together. Place in individual bowls and top with a little extra parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris