We tend to stick to the same pasta recipes in the italian foodie house, penne carbonara, spaghetti with tomato sauce, alio olio pepperoncino so I decided last week it was time for a change! I was glancing through the Silver Spoon for recipes for my rocket when I found this at the back in the chef section which I never look at. It’s from the River Cafe founders Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray and I have to say it’s one of the nicest pastas I’ve had. It’s so simple but the flavours are amazing, the sourness of the creme fraiche combined with the tanginess of the lemon and the bitterness of the rocket(I should be on Market Kitchen), they really work well together. It’s a very light and summery dish and would be perfect for a summer lunch with friends.
what you need for 4:
tub creme fraiche(I can’t remember the size, but I bought the regular size in superquinn) The recipe says 250ml for 6 but I think I used that for 4! I’ll come back with tub size…..
finely grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
500g dried tagliatelle
100g rocket leaves chopped
100g parmesan grated
sea salt and black pepper
what to do:
pour the creme fraiche into a bowl, stir in the lemon rind and juice and season with salt and pepper
bring a pan or water to the boil, add salt and your pasta and cook until al dente
drain your pasta and return to the pot
pour in the creme fraiche mix, add the majority of your rocket and parmesan cheese and toss to combine
serve with remaining rocket and parmesan on top
serve with a chilled glass of Italian white, Soave in my case:
buon appetito!
oooo Lorraine, this is so going to be my dinner tomorrow night!!! Yum yum!!
rach let me know what you think? I loved it, cooked it for the staff aswell and they devoured it:)
Fab looking photos, good enough to eat off the page.
As you know I’m not too dogmatic about wine and food matching. Soave would be fine. I think if I were being hyper-picky I’d want something slightly darker toned to spotlight the lemon zing. Vermentino is calling out to me.
God, this is very anoraky for me!!!
Well, you did ask…
Lors that looks so good, gorgeous flavour combinations, gorgeous photography! So good
I’ve an award for you on my blog too btw.
http://culinarytravelsofakitchengoddess.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/premios-dardo/
Ernie – haha thanks a mil! Not anoraky at all, suits you sir!!:) I don’t think I’ve had Vermentino, on the list.
KG – thanks for your lovely comment and award, you’re a very popular lady for recieving awards and very well deserved too:)
So nice and refreshing!!
all types of cream are evil
Hi Lors, this looks really lovely. I made sort of the same kind of thing the other day but I used fresh peas instead of rocket, which were very nice. Only problem was I totally forgot about the lemon juice and the pasta really suffered for it
Ah well, next time I won’t forget!
Nice! Brava.
Those photos are superb, as always!
thanks Adel:)
fixup – ??
aoife – thanks, I think the lemon gives it a lovely bite but would still be nice without it..?
thanks Laura, you’re desserts look as fab as ever:)
ts – why thank you:)
Hi Lors – yeah, it was nice enough. But the lemon juice and the rind that you added would have made it just a bit nicer is all!
Hi Lorraine – made this for my lunch yesterday as had a big bunch of rocket from my veg box, was looking for inspiration for what to do other than put it in another cheese sandwich and it was gorgeous. Used the Glenisk Organic Creme Fraiche (big dollop from a 250ml tub) which is fabulous!
Thanks for the recipe,
Karen
Thanks again for another great recipe! posted this on my facebook profile with a photo of my dish, my rocket was not the best.
I linked to this site in one of the entries.
Lors, I finally got round to trying this. And of course, I couldn’t help but write a post on it! (This blogging lark is turning into a bit of an obsession)
http://www.toastedspecial.com/2009/05/08/tagliatelle-with-creme-fraiche-lemon-rocket/
My photos of your dish didn’t turn out great, the evening light wasn’t in my favour, but it tasted super.
Cheers,
Conor.
This looks so full of spring!
aoife – I hear ya….
Karen – it really is good isn’t it! Glad you enjoyed it:)
Enda – add us as a friend and I can have a look! It’s hard to find good rocket anyway as the bags tend to be quite tasteless. The difference in taste from the garden is unbelievable, it is sooooo peppery! YUM!
Conor – I think the photo is really good, you should see my first attempts, not a pretty sight:) Thanks for the post.
FH – it’s so fresh and summery, goes perfectly with a lovely glass of white:)
Hi Lorraine,
Don’t know how to find you on Facebook…
email me if you need to get my name.
Enda.
Just nitpicking: that would be “aglio, olio e peperoncino”. My second favourite spaghetti dish after spaghetti con vongole.
Greetings from an expat Italian foodie with a background in Irish music. Enjoying your blog a lot so far.
This worked a treat in our house last night. Even got my five year old over her aversion for all things green. She even asked for the lemon pasta for lunch today. Going to crumble a few walnuts over the top next time. Keep up the good work!
Enda – I think if you click on the facebook link on the right, you should be able to add me as friend?
Mass – I know I was being lazy and hoping no Italians would be reading BUSTED!!!:) I would have to say they would be my 2 favourite too and in that order also. Welcome and glad you like the blog, damn now I have to make sure everything is perfect:)
JC – Welcome, my 2 year old is the exact same, she calls everything green BASIL and “she no likes it”:) It really is nice isn’t it, Conor over at http://www.toastedspecial.com added pine-nuts so I would think walnuts would be lovely too.