Lemon Pepper Pasta
My friend, Rosa Rizza, grew up in Sicily and in America. She came to the United States with her parents when she was 7. Rosa and her parents spoke no English.
Rosa quickly learned the language and translated for her parents in the early years. Eventually, Rosa’s mother, Paulina, became a local legend known through the Hartford, Connecticut, area for her delicious meatballs and soups. Rosa’s father, Paul, grew much of their food in their backyard as he had back in Sicily, including a fig tree he nurtured from a cutting smuggled to America from their hometown, Canicattini Bagni.
Rosa returned to Sicily when she was 18, and has been going back and forth ever since, mom to two now-grown chefs and several grandchildren. All of this reflected in her cooking, and in a book we recently worked on together, Pasta Stop, Water Go.
I met Rosa for the first time while teaching travel writing for UMass Amherst, along with the Sicily Program’s founder, Rick Newton, who curated our week in Sicily every March with food, drink, culture, antiquities, Rosa’s humor. And each year Rick would book a “Lemon Lunch” on the last day of our trip, which featured lemon vinaigrette on a salad of fresh greens, lemony meatballs wrapped and baked in lemon leaves aside lemon risotto, lemon sorbet and limoncello for dessert and digestif, all served in the midday Sicilian sunshine under umbrellas while sipping local white wine.
The root of the lemony flavors of Sicily are the Siracusa Lemon, an especially aromatic species of lemon grown only in Siracusa province which has three flowerings a year. This recipe has enough lemon juice and lemon zest to conjure up Sicilian memories.
Three cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup olive and more for garnish
Three lemons: zest and juice
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese (substitute greek yogurt and almond milk)
One pound of spaghetti
Fresh parsley and basil
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Freshly grated black pepper
Brown garlic in 1/4 olive oil in large non-tick pan over medium heat. Add zest of three lemons and fresh ground pepper (about four turns of a medicum grinder). Take off direct heat and set pan aside. Meanwhile heat pasta water to a rolling boil. Add spaghetti (Rosa likes #5).
When pasta is not quite cooked (if it says to cook 10 minutes, take it off at 7 minutes) reserve 1 cup or more of pasta water. Drain pasta. Add pasta to the pan with the lemon, pepper and garlic. ADd lemon juice, reserved water, and mascarpone (sour cream works, as does a blend of greek yogurt and almond milk). Stir mixture over medium heat to warm through, thicken the liquid, and meld the flavors, 2-3 minutes.
Serve hot, drizzled with olive oil, handfuls of fresh herbs and sprinkle with freshly grate parmesan cheese.
SCENES FROM SICILIA
