Okay, folks, let’s talk about this caramelized lemon and zucchini pasta I whipped up. It sounds fancy, but trust me, it’s weeknight-friendly.
First, I grabbed my ingredients. You know, the usual suspects: pasta (I used linguine, but whatever you’ve got works), a couple of zucchini, a lemon, some garlic, butter, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. Oh, and red pepper flakes – gotta have that kick!
I started by getting a big pot of salted water boiling for the pasta. While that was heating up, I prepped the veggies. I sliced the zucchini into these thin half-moons. For the lemon, I zested it first (save that zest!), then sliced it into thin rounds.
Getting Down to Business
Once the water was ready, I tossed in the pasta and cooked it until it was, al dente, and set my timer, so I don’t forget and end up with mush. Don’t forget about the pasta!
Next up, the fun part: caramelizing! I heated some olive oil and butter in a big pan over medium heat. Once that was hot, I threw in the lemon slices and cooked them until they were all golden brown and, well, caramelized. This took a few minutes, and I had to flip them to get both sides.
Then, I took out the lemons and set them aside. In the same pan, with all that lemony goodness, I added the zucchini and some minced garlic. I cooked that until the zucchini was tender and a bit browned, stirring every now and then.
Putting It All Together
When the pasta was ready, I drained it, but don’t you dare throw out that pasta water! We will need it. I added the cooked pasta to the pan with the zucchini, along with a splash of that precious pasta water. That starchy water helps create a nice, creamy sauce.
Then I stirred in the lemon zest, a good squeeze of lemon juice (from the leftover lemon), grated Parmesan cheese, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. I tossed everything together until it was all coated and the cheese was melted. I added more pasta water, a little at a time, until I got the consistency I wanted – nice and saucy, not dry.
Finally, I stirred in those caramelized lemon slices and gave it one last toss. I served it up immediately, with extra Parmesan cheese on top because, why not?
It was a hit! The caramelized lemon adds this sweetness, the zucchini is tender, and the red pepper flakes give it a little heat. Seriously, you have to try this.
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