Fresh Lemon Pepper Linguini with Broccoli

Yesterday I had to go to jury duty in downtown San Diego.  Fortunately, I was relieved around 2:30 PM and was not assigned to a case... so I could turn my attention to more pressing matters, like planning our next meal.  Due to a lack of parking at the courthouse, CW had dropped me off in the morning, so I had time to walk over to India Street, site of San Diego's Little Italy district, while I waited for CW to come and pick me up.

I had read and heard great things about Assenti's Pasta, a grocery shop that makes pasta fresh in-house and also carries lots of Italian cheeses, oils, canned tomatoes, and other imported food products.  We love fresh pasta here at the impeccable palate, so I decided to see what was available.  They carry quite the range, from simple linguini, penne, and shells, to flavored pasta, like spinach fettuccini and squid ink linguini.  What caught my eye was a lemon-pepper linguini.  I picked some along with some fresh grana padano cheese for grating.

From prior experience, I have learned that when using flavored pasta, it is best not to use any sauce that will compete or overpower the pasta itself.  Thus, I planned to keep this dish simple, with a sauce based on olive oil, butter, garlic, and a little white wine.  For some nutrition and color I would add a generous amount of chopped sauteed broccoli.

Diced Leek

To build my sauce base I heated some olive oil in a sautee pan over medium heat.  Once the oil was hot I added in a diced leek and cooked that until it was soft and starting to brown a little (about 5 minutes).  Then I added 4 cloves of minced garlic, 2 pats of butter, and the chopped broccoli and stirred it all together.  The pan was deglazed with some white wine and covered over low-medium heat to cook the broccoli through.

Sauteeing the Broccoli

Fresh lemon-pepper linguini

While the broccoli was cooking, I turned to the pasta.  Fresh pasta is soft and needs only 3 minutes or so to cook.  I already had a pot of salted boiling water on the stovetop, so I tossed in the linguini for 3 minutes and then strained it through a colander and transferred it to a large mixing bowl, along with a tablespoon of olive oil and 2 pats of butter.  The pasta was tossed with the oil, butter, and the fresh squeezed juice of half a lemon.  Finally, a half cup of the pasta cooking water was added to the broccoli pan and the broccoli, leek and garlic sauce was poured over the pasta and tossed to combine.

Tossed Linguini with broccoli and sauce

One note before I continue - I mentioned that I added a half cup of the pasta cooking water to the broccoli.  Prior to cooking pasta, I always add a generous pinch of salt to the water. This does 2 things - it adds flavor into the pasta (which absorbs water as it cooks) and also raises the boiling point of water, leading to faster cooking time.  Once the pasta has been cooked, the water is still salty, but also has some of the starch and flavor from the pasta imparted to it.  The starchy, salty water is a good additive to a pan sauce, providing moisture, flavor, and a vehicle to carry all the flavor (leeks, garlic, etc.) from the sauce pan to the pasta.  Without the added liquid, much of those tasty morsels would be left behind, stuck to the sautee pan.

Here is a picture of the plated dish, complete with fresh grated grana padano cheese.  This came out tasting quite good.  The pasta itself had a great lemon flavor, accented perfectly by the additional squeeze of lemon juice.  As for spice, the meal is quite mild and the pasta and broccoli were not overwhelmed by the leek or garlic, which had been cooked long enough to be more sweet than pungent.  I ended up added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for some added heat, but CW loved it as it was.  Between the generously salted pasta cooking water and the cheese, we did not need to add any additional salt either!


Summation of the recipe (serves 2):

- 2/3 pound fresh lemon-pepper linguini (if using plain linguini, add more fresh lemon juice, to taste)
- one chopped medium leek (pale green/white part only, end removed)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 4 pats of butter
- olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine
- kosher salt
- broccoli crown, chopped
- cheese for grating

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add generous pinch of salt

2. Heat tablespoon olive oil in sturdy sautee pan

3. Add leek and a pinch of salt to hot oil and stir until translucent and soft, about 3-5 minutes. Next, add in garlic, 2 pats of butter, the broccoli and a pinch of kosher salt.  Stir to combine, deglaze with white wine, cover and cook over low heat for duration.

4. Add pasta to boiling water and stir to prevent sticking.  Stir every minute or so until cook time reached (cook time will be much longer if using dry pasta - see directions on package).  Do not overcook, as pasta continues to cook a bit after removed from the water.

5. Strain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.  Add pasta to large bowl with 1 tablspoon olive oil and 2 pats of butter - mix to melt butter and fully coat pasta.

6. Add reserved cooking water to the broccoli/leek pan and stir to get all bits from the sides.  Pour broccoli/sauce mixture over pasta in bowl and toss to combine.

7.  Plate and top with fresh grated cheese.  Add red pepper to taste if desired.

8. Enjoy with your favorite beverage!