macadami-arugula lemon pasta--
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Trader Joe's lemon-pepper pappardelle pasta is almost essential for this. It's a dry pasta that has a strong lemon/pepper flavor, without the salty/bitter edge that pre-made lemon pepper items can have. It was the perfect pasta to get my family over its arugula-bias.
You can substitute any broad, flat pasta for the TJ's version, as noted below. |
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2 pkgs Trader Joe's lemon-pepper pappardelle pasta
or 1 box of farfalle or 1/2 package of fettucine, black pepper and the juice of a lemon 3 cloves of garlic, minced Olive oil About 1T of butter |
About 1/4 cup of toasted macadamia nuts, salt and pepper flavor if you can get it.
1 carton of your favorite mushrooms--I use baby portabellas A box of arugula or 3-4 bunches Black pepper, fresh cracked if you can Parmesan cheese |
Cook and drain pasta according to directions until just barely al dente. Keep a few ladle-fuls of the pasta water. If you are not using Trader Joe's pasta, squeeze lemon juice over cooked pasta and toss with black pepper. You should be able to smell and taste the lemon on the pasta.
Put the macadamia nuts in a Ziploc back and hammer them lightly to break them up. Set aside.
Drizzle olive and butter into a pan that is large enough to hold all the pasta, plus the mushrooms and the arugula. Add garlic, give it a swirl, but do not let it burn. Add mushrooms and cook until they start to release the mushroom liquid. Toss in pasta. Add arugula by the handful and add a ladle-ful of pasta water. The arugula will cook down quickly. Add the rest of the arugula and another ladle-ful of pasta water if it looks dry. Be conservative on the pasta water because you don't want it to get soupy.
Toss with macadamia nuts, parmesan cheese and black pepper. Fast, yum and no leftovers. All good indications of a winner.
Put the macadamia nuts in a Ziploc back and hammer them lightly to break them up. Set aside.
Drizzle olive and butter into a pan that is large enough to hold all the pasta, plus the mushrooms and the arugula. Add garlic, give it a swirl, but do not let it burn. Add mushrooms and cook until they start to release the mushroom liquid. Toss in pasta. Add arugula by the handful and add a ladle-ful of pasta water. The arugula will cook down quickly. Add the rest of the arugula and another ladle-ful of pasta water if it looks dry. Be conservative on the pasta water because you don't want it to get soupy.
Toss with macadamia nuts, parmesan cheese and black pepper. Fast, yum and no leftovers. All good indications of a winner.