A winter pasta with unlikely ingredients: long pasta, with lemons and chile

Ragazzi, you will learn, at some point, that inspiration comes at the oddest times. Sometimes, you put together two random thoughts which , upon reflection, seem to belong together obviously.  Of course, the length of time that separated the bringing of the two together speaks against that, but it only makes us sit back and marvel at our minds.

Whatever, as Annalena is wont to say these days.  The dish that follows,  comes out of the "marriage," in Annalena's mind, of a dish she had years ago, at her favorite Zuni cafe' , and a recipe that appeared in the New York Times several weeks ago.

When Annalena and the Guyman traveled to San Francisco earlier in the year than they do now, they ate much that one would associate with California winter.  Indeed, the produce of the San Francisco winter would impel Annalena to spend it there, especially the citrus.  At Zuni, one night, she ate a dish of fresh pasta with lemon zest, and black pepper.  Now, how odd that does that sound?    Well, however odd it may sound to you, rest assured it tasted wonderful.  And you can make it very easily.  At this point, ragazzi,  you should have figured out the recipe yourselves.

So, when she saw a recipe, in the Times, that called for lemon and chile, Annalena  thought, "again?"  Her cooking pal at work, Michael, made it, and proclaimed it a winner. So Annalena put it in her head for some time in the future.  The future was the present the weekend past, and Annalena made it:

Does this look like something you would eat?  It should.  And so, let's make it.  Annalena made it for a party of eight.  You may wish to cut back on the proportions here. 

You begin with six lemons.  Try to get a mix of meyers, which are sweeter, and lisbons, which are the ones we are used to.  Of those six, zest three, using one of those wonderful zester toys that gets all the yellow off without getting into the white. Put the zest aside, and keep the lemons handy.   Next, take the remaining three, and cut off about a quarter of an inch, from top and bottom:

After you've done this, cut the lemons into quarters, lengthwise,  and then cut small triangles, of each quarter:

You will have a lot of them.  You can cut them thinner than you see them here, and as you go along, remove the pits. You will find it easy to do.  

Add these lemons, to a pot of boiling water.  You will use this water to cook your pasta later (we do not waste things, ragazzi), and you only need to put the lemons in the boiling water, for two minutes.  Rescue them, and let them dry:

What you have done is to remove the bitter element from the peels.  Ultimately, this is a good thing.    Next, get a skilled, and add two tablespoons of olive oil, over a high flame.  Add the lemons with a pinch of salt, and a larger pinch of sugar. Cook these, moving  them every now and then, until the lemons carmelize:

You have now done most of your work.  Move those lemons to a bowl or plate, and off the heat, add two tabelspoons of butter,  the lemon peel, as much chile flake as you think you can stand (no more than a teaspoon, to Annalena's taste), and grate in a hefty dose of black pepper.   When you can smell the lemons, add a half cup of water from that pot you started before, and the cooked, carmelized lemons.  

You have now made your sauce.  Bring the rest of the water to a boil, and add a pound and a half of pasta (24 ounces:  many pastas come in 12 ounce packages these days, so two packages),  and when it's very aldente, drain it.  Put it back in the pot and add the lemon sauce:

Not quite done, ragazzi.  Grate a hefty cup of parmesan cheese, and stir this in, together with a half cup or so, of either parsley leaves, or celery leaves, or both, chopped up. The picture that follows, is with just parsley:

You will be glad you have this recipe, ragazzi.  Ultimately, you did not use any odd ingredients, and you made a wonderful , very satisfying dish.  

We are going to return to pasta in the next recipe, and we'll be making something that you will find heartier, and perhaps more nourishing in a clinical sense.  Ultimately, however, ALL pasta is nourishing.