Category: 10-Minute Meal

Lemon Pepper Pasta

by Maria

Maria Pasta

This is my very favorite minimalist recipe. It’s a spin on an Italian cacio e pepe recipe, but it’s so much more than the sum of its parts.

It’s also the easiest recipe I have ever made. And one of the most delicious. You’ll be surprised by how these humble ingredients work together to make such a luscious, rewarding pasta. And did I mention that you’ll have dinner on the table in under 10 minutes? This recipe is that perfect mix of insanely easy + crazy delicious + so very affordable that will make it an instant weeknight staple.

As Mario Batali says: “Food, like most things, is best when left to its own simple beauty.”

Lemon Pepper Pasta Recipe
aka cacio e pepe con limone

Maria Pasta 1

Serves 4

1 package of spaghetti (I use whole wheat)
Extra virgin olive oil
2 large lemons
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Parmesan (ideally Parmigiano Reggiano)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta for 1 minute less than the package indicates. Strain the pasta, return it to the pot, and place over very low heat. Drizzle olive oil over the pasta until thoroughly coated (you’ll need at least a ¼ cup and likely more) then juice the lemons into the pot. Grind a lot of black pepper onto the pasta—you’ll want each strand of spaghetti to have multiple flecks of pepper on it. Sprinkle a hearty pinch of salt and grate as much cheese as you like over the pasta.

Serve onto four plates and top with an extra drizzle of olive oil, another grind of pepper, and more cheese at the table.

Crackpeas (a.k.a. Crispy Chickpeas)

by Maria

Crackpeas002

These chickpeas are beyond addictive. Jarrett and I first had them at AS220 in Providence, a nonprofit restaurant/bar/music venue/art galley/hipster kind of place. One of the book designers at work recommended it after I asked her for a place with cheap, but high quality and innovative, food and drinks and a fun vibe (i.e. The Perfect Restaurant).

Jarrett and I walked in and immediately Did. Not. Fit. In. It was like a bad sitcom where there’s a loud record scratch, everyone stops talking, and turns to look at the intruders. Jarrett was in a dorky plaid flannel shirt and his trademark Winchester hat, and I was wearing a dress, heels, and pearls. We were the only un-inked, un-pierced, un-down-with-that squares on the premises.

We kind of scuttled over to a table and tried to look like we were being ironically nerdy as some sort of social statement. I try this move a lot. It never works.

So we decided to fix it by ordering EVERYTHING.

Crispy Chickpeas

We ordered an outstanding pulled pork pasta, a butternut squash soup, an intensely cheesy and massive bowl of mac and cheese, a side dish of roasted Brussels sprouts, and these chickpeas.

You know these chickpeas are what’s up when I say they were better than mac and cheese. The mac and cheese was darn good, but I kept going back to these chickpeas and having my mind blown with each bite. They are ultra crispy, have amazing garlic flavor, and just take on such a rich, hearty crunch that you won’t even recognize them as chickpeas.

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