Lemon Fusilli (sort of)

July 14, 2010 by Danielle
Filed under: recipes, savory 

Kyle and I stumbled upon this recipe about six months ago, and it’s become one of our favorites because it’s ridiculously easy and very filling.  Two of the tastiest things I can think of are heavy cream and tomatoes–throw in lemon and spinach, and my world is pretty much rocked.  This should be made with fusili, not elbow macaroni, but in all honesty we’ve used just about every kind of noodle available and it always turns out just fine.  This recipe comes from the fabulous Ina Garten via The Dreamy Dish.

lemon macaroni just doesn't have the same ring to it

To make this, you’ll need:

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 T minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
  • 2 C heavy cream
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 t pepper
  • 1 pound dried fusilli pasta
  • spinach roughly chopped, to taste
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved if you like

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds. Next, add the cream, zest from 2 lemons, juice of 2 lemons, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until sauce starts to thicken.If you want to keep the cream from curdling, use really fresh cream and add the lemon juice slowly while stirring with a wooden spoon. Don’t worry if it does curdle, if you keep stirring and will become smooth and again.

While the sauce is cooking, cook and drain the pasta, returning it to the large pot you cooked it in.  Pour in the sauce and cook it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, which will help the pasta absorb the sauce. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, and add the spinach, Parmesan, and tomatoes and toss.  When we’re lazy or don’t have guests over, we just add the spinach, Parmesan, and tomatoes to the cooking pot to cut down on dishes and because there’s no one to impress.

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Comments

11 Comments on Lemon Fusilli (sort of)

  1. Chuck on Wed, 14th Jul 2010 10:30 am

    2. I too love this recipe, and I know I’ve been asking you for it forever. Today when you posted this recipe, after seeing what the dish is actually called (Lemon Fusilli), I realized that I’ve had this recipe hanging in my kitchen for probably about 6 months! I could shoot myself in the foot! I could have been eating Lemon Fusilli all along if I wasn’t such a moron!

  2. Danielle on Wed, 14th Jul 2010 11:21 am

    3. I’m glad you’ll finally be able to make this, but it sucks you’ve had to go without for so long. I think when I made it for everyone on spring break I cut up big tomatoes, but I really prefer it with tiny tomatoes like the ones pictured here. Sometimes cut tomatoes give it a pinkish tinge that looks kind of sick, and the leftovers tend to be really lacking.

  3. Jenn @ Dreamy Dish on Wed, 14th Jul 2010 12:44 pm

    4. I’m so glad you love this dish as much as I do! It’s really the best thing ever.

  4. Danielle on Thu, 15th Jul 2010 9:57 am

    5. Jenn, one of my favorite things about it is how quick it is! This dish is one of my favorites to serve to guests because it tastes like much more work than it actually is.

  5. Chris on Thu, 15th Jul 2010 12:04 pm

    6. That looks amazing! The lemon must be a very interesting flavor in a cream pasta… mmm I can imagine it now! I’ll have to give it a try asap. :)

  6. Danielle on Sun, 18th Jul 2010 9:21 am

    7. Chris, this recipe is so worth bumping to the top of your to do list! I love anything lemon, and heavy cream is definitely a guilty pleasure I indulge in way too often.

  7. Chris on Mon, 19th Jul 2010 4:48 pm

    8. I’ll try to whip it up sometime this week with my roommates, how many servings does this recipe normally make? Think it’ll be find for 3 people?

  8. Danielle on Tue, 20th Jul 2010 9:55 am

    9. Chris, this recipe should be plenty for three people, especially if you serve it with french bread or something. Kyle and I always have leftovers!

  9. Chris on Mon, 26th Jul 2010 12:11 pm

    10. Well Danielle, I gave it a go on Saturday and loved it! Oh and my roommates enjoyed it too :P Just as creamy and delicious as I thought it would be. I must say the lemon was a wonderful and welcomed addition, don’t get it into my pasta dishes nearly as often as I’d like. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be keeping this one for sure. Also is there a way to be notified about comments? Didn’t know you replied till just now.

  10. Danielle on Tue, 27th Jul 2010 10:15 pm

    11. Chris, I’m really glad you and your roommates liked the recipe! As for the comments thing, I’m working on getting something a little easier to locate (I’ve seen some wordpress blogs with an option that notifies readers of replies in the comments section via email), but for now I think you can subscribe to my comment feed at http://disfordelicate.com/comments/feed . I’ll let you know when I figure something more convenient out!

  11. Chris on Fri, 6th Aug 2010 2:09 pm

    12. Awesome, I appreciate it. Though it does seem the link doesn’t work, well at least for me, just get a bunch of text. Don’t worry about it too much I’ll just be sure to check on my comments every so often, but if you do find an easy way for you to add comment subscriptions I’d love to know about it.

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