Quick and Easy Garlic Lemon Pasta
whole wheat pasta (I used fettucini)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice or the juice from 1 lemon
2-3 cloves elephant garlic, minced
vegetable of your choice (I used half a package of frozen peas. Asparagus would work well, too.)
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
freshly ground black peppercorns to taste
1 teaspoon garlic salt or to taste
Heat your water for the pasta and bring to a boil, I use garlic salt and a dash of olive oil to season the water. Cook your pasta for the required amount of time until it is "al dente." In the last few minutes of the pasta's cooking time add your veggies, calculating in however much time they need to cook. This is why chopped asparagus or frozen veggies such as peas would work best. When the pasta is done empty the pot's contents into a colander, in the now empty pot heat two tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Add the garlic and saute until golden brown (make sure your garlic is in small pieces as not everyone enjoys biting into a hunk of garlic, this is why elephant garlic is ideal for this recipe because it is generally much milder yet still has great flavor). One the garlic is done turn off the heat and add the contents of your colander. Stir to coat your pasta and veggies evenly and add the last tablespoon of lemon juice. Add the chopped cilantro (or fresh herb of your choice). Sprinkle with the desired amount of garlic salt and pepper. Stir and Serve!
Source of recipe: I came up with this by just throwing some things together.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I like the simplicity of this recipe--plus I always have this stuff on hand!
I've made a lot of garlic/oil pasta but never before with lemon. I used about 15 large cloves of grocery store garlic but I think the lemon juice somehow inhibited the rich garlic flavor from being transferred to the oil resulting in a pasta with a lemonish hint and a garlic whisper. I don't like overpowering flavors but I like flavors! Also the garlic turned a little blue when it was cooked in the lemon juice. I suggest that the garlic be sautéed in oil without lemon and add the lemon when tossing the pasta.
Good recipe. I switched it up a bit and used quinoa cooked in veg broth instead of pasta.
The asparagus was great in this! I also added some broccoli and seasoned with a little bit of ground ginger.
Delish!