Recipe: Frances Mayes’ Lemon Pistachio Linguine
With its shallot cream sauce and fresh lemon zest, this dish is both quick to make and delightful to eat.
Frances Mayes, of “Under the Tuscan Sun” fame, has a new cookbook out — “Pasta Veloce: Irresistibly Fast Recipes from Under the Tuscan Sun” (Abrams Books, $35) — that showcases some of Italy’s tastiest and quickest pasta dishes.
About this one, she writes, “Fresh lemon and Parmigiano Reggiano are a match made in, well, the Italian kitchen. Blend these into a shallot-cream sauce, along with pistachios and chives, and the result is an absolutely riveting dish. Because it’s so rich, it is best served as a first course. To save time and effort, chop the pistachios and parsley together by pulsing them in a food processor or a mini processor.”
Lemon Pistachio Linguine
Serves 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces linguine
2 medium or 1 large shallot, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
¾ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon coarsely crushed black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Dash cayenne pepper
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons juice)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces shelled pistachios, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
2/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
DIRECTIONS
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the linguine until just al dente, about 10 minutes. Do not drain.
Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, cook the shallots in the olive oil over medium heat until soft but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the vermouth and boil for 1 minute. Add the heavy cream, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, cayenne and lemon zest. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken slightly.
Add the butter to the cream sauce, stirring until melted. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of chopped pistachios and parsley for garnish. Add the remainder to the sauce along with the lemon juice and chives.
When the linguine is done, use tongs to transfer it to the sauce along with any water clinging to the strands. Add ½ cup of the Parmigiano and about 1/3 cup of the pasta water and toss to coat evenly. Divide among shallow pasta bowls and sprinkle a little of the reserved pistachio-parsley mixture and the remaining cheese on top.
— From “Pasta Veloce” by Frances Mayes and Susan Wyler (Abrams Books)