I stumbled upon this recipe about six months ago, and it’s become one of my 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 I’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 I’m lazy or don’t have guests over, I just add the spinach, Parmesan, and tomatoes to the cooking pot to cut down on dishes and because there’s no one to impress.
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!
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.
I’m so glad you love this dish as much as I do! It’s really the best thing ever.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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!
Well Danielle, I gave it a go on Saturday and loved it! Oh and my roommates enjoyed it too
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.
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!
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.