“You’re making that pasta again?”
I heard those words out of my friend Kim’s mouth quite often a few years back when I first discovered Martha Stewart’s Spaghettini with Lemon Zest and Chives. Basically, the fact that I could look like the cooking queen with such little effort made me want to make it over and over. After the first few times I gave it my own little twist by adding shrimp and I’ve made it like that ever since. I also like to use linguine.
This afternoon I prepared it yet again for a couple of friends who came by for a late lunch, early dinner. In my defense, it had been a while since I made it and one of my guests was new to it. Here’s my version.
Lemon zest and chive linguine with shrimp
- 1 pound linguine
- 1/2 pound shrimp*
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup ricotta salata cheese, grated**
- Fresh chives, thinly chopped, to taste
- salt*** and pepper
Place the shrimp in a medium-sized pot of boiling water until they turn pink and curl (this takes seconds). Drain, rinse in cold water, peel and set aside.
Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain.
Mix the lemon juice, zest and butter in a pasta bowl or pot. Add the cooked pasta over the mix and toss gently until coated. Add the cheese and toss gently. Add the shrimp and sprinkle the dish with chives. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook’s Notes
* I like to serve about 5 shrimp per person. This varies depending on their size.
** I’ve tried this recipe with parmesan and percorino romano because I can’t always find the ricotta at my local supermarket. The other two cheeses work well but the ricotta really makes it stand out.
*** If the pasta is cooked with enough salt — one of my culinary school instructors used to say pasta water should taste like ocean water — the dish needs no additional salt. The cheese also adds to the salt flavor.
That looks very tasty! However, I would prefer more shrimp on my plate, please!
Looks good. When are you cooking me and danielle dinner?
tHIS PASTA is delicious, for real.. the lemon is so good, and its really simple… I approve you can make it as many times as you want..
An interesting note about cheese on seafood pasta: Some of the old school Italians will slap you in the back of the head, scream sacrilege or sigh in obvious disgust if you ask for it. At least, that has happened to me a number of times whenever I visit a restaurant owned/operated by Italians, and have asked for cheese on pescatora. I am not sure the precise reason. I asked once and was told that, pre-World War II, Italy was a poor, agrarian country; parmigiano-reggiano and other cheeses took a long time to make/age, why waste the precious cheese when the seafood had enough flavor? I’ve read also that they think the cheese actually ruins/overpowers the delicate flavor of the seafood. But this is all anecdotal, and I still can’t verify the reason. If anyone knows, I would love to find out.
The other school of thought, however, comes from my friend Carmello, who owns a shop in San Francisco and emigrated to the US from Sicily when he was a teenager. He acknowledged that the rule exists. But “If I want cheese on my pasta, I’ll have some damn cheese,” he said. “Who the hell are they to tell me what I can and can’t eat?”
I like the second school of thought; let flavor be the judge.
I better watch out for those Italians. But now that you mention it, it makes some sense. This pasta without the cheese would probably be as good. Maybe an alternative is seasoning the shrimp a little to add more flavor, but the butter, lemon and chives give it plenty. Thanks for the tip.
it is dangerous for guy (como yo) to look at these pictures when he hasn’t eaten breakfast, and is starting a long day, with lunch more than an hour away.
i haven’t had shrimp in ages, nor even pasta in a while, and shrimp in pasta (algo que me gusta mucho) i haven’t had in probably a couple years!
what am i going to do about that at 10:09 am?
Yeah, you better watch out for those Italians
Personally I’d like to see a Sicilian woman strangle Martha Stewart, but I have a hunch that probably happened in jail.
Anyways, I have cheese on pescatora all the time. There is something about licking the pescatora sauce out of a mussel shell — muy sabroso.
I do want to try the ricotta because I am familiar with it only in lasagnas, cannolis and baked pastas that my grandmother and mother made…but now that I think about it, it could soften and balance a very spicy, bold pasta dish (such puttanesca). Hrrrrm, something to experiment with…