Pepperoni Pasta With Lemon and Garlic
Published Sept. 16, 2021
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- Salt
- 1pound medium pasta shells or orecchiette
- 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- 6ounces pepperoni, thinly sliced, then coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
- 3garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1teaspoon fennel seeds, cracked with a mortar and pestle or the side of a chef’s knife
- Pinch of red-pepper flakes (optional)
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- 1small lemon, zested (if your lemon is very large, just zest half of it)
- ¾cup torn fresh basil or parsley leaves and tender stems, plus more for garnish
- Grated Parmesan, for serving (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1037 calories; 58 grams fat; 21 grams saturated fat; 2 grams trans fat; 26 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 89 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 38 grams protein; 1833 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, according to package directions, until about 2 minutes shy of al dente so that the pasta can finish cooking in the sauce. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- Step 2
While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Add pepperoni and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisped and brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Step 3
If the pan looks dry, drizzle in a little more oil. Add garlic, fennel seeds, red-pepper flakes (if using) and a large pinch of salt, and cook until garlic is lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook until it darkens, about 1 minute.
- Step 4
Add the drained pasta, lemon zest and ¾ cup of the reserved pasta water to the skillet. Stir until the pasta is al dente and well coated with the sauce. Add more pasta water, if needed, until the sauce is glossy and the pasta is cooked to taste.
- Step 5
Cut the zested lemon in half and squeeze some juice into the pasta. Stir in herbs and taste, adding more lemon juice and salt, if needed. Cut the remaining half lemon into wedges and serve it alongside the pasta, which should be garnished with more herbs and a drizzle of oil, and sprinkled with Parmesan, if you like.
Private Notes
Comments
Variation. The sauce will be even more clingy (and tasty) if you stir some grated parmeggiana, a tablespoon or two, into the hot sauce in the pan so as to melt it. Pecorino would also work well as a mix-in. For me, the grated cheese topping is vital, not optional.
If you see a comment saying they would use less pasta next time, it means they didn’t use enough starchy pasta water. This is the key to getting the sauce to cling to almost any pasta dish. I throw salt and semolina into the boiling water to make sure it’s starchy enough and use it in the dish. Works every time.
Tasty! I skipped the fennel seed because it upsets my stomach (anyone else?) and used black pepper. I think the lemony taste of coriander would be excellent - next time! I'll also use less pasta, maybe 3/4 lb, and toss in some spinach at the end to just wilt.
This recipe proved to be less than the sum of its parts. It came out OK with a few tweaks based on the comments. But I have to say it wasn’t worth the effort and expense to use top quality ingredients and do all the chopping, grating, zesting, slicing, etc. Of course the 25 minutes listed in the recipe is the cooking time and that was simple, but the time more than doubled with all the prep. I used delicious high-quality pepperoni that my brother sent me from Western New York, our favorite bronze cut DeCecco orrecchietta and grated some very good Parmesan Reggiano, along with a whole pot fresh basil. After reading the comments, I saved back extra past water and used close to 2 cups, I also used two heaping tablespoons of tomato paste. This did make a very nice consistency sauce. Also, according to the comments, I stirred in a bit of the Parmesano. I used plenty of lemon zest and lemon juice along with three very large cloves of garlic, sliced thinly. After tasting, my husband and I both thought it was a little dull. I added more lemon juice., or red pepper flakes, sea salt & a big grind of black pepper. It was tolerable, but I decided to throw in some good grape tomatoes cut in half along with a big bunch of baby spinach to at least make it more nutritious. I won’t bother to make it again.
This was a delicious weeknight meal. No modifications made and loved it as is.
We loved this. Made it as written. Only suggestion is to save more than one cup of pasta water before draining. Super easy quick weeknight meal.