Has anyone made the Caramelized Lemon Pasta dish that Marg posted at 26728?

M

marilynfl

Moderator
I'd like to have friends over this weekend to make it, but it's so simple that it has to potential to be boring.

I speak from just having wasted time making a great sounding butternut squash/potato/veggie soup that was so boring most of Shelves 2 and 3 of my spice cabinet went on it--along with mustard, honey, harissa and Berbere spice mix...and ALL THAT still only improved it a bit.

I don't mind boring for Larry and I, but I hate serving a boring dish to company.

(well...obviously I DO get pissy about boring food re: my rant in the second paragraph)

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016815-pasta-with-fried-lemons-and-chile-flakes

 
This recipe sounds great, but one would have to love lemons. Some folks just don't like

that POW that lemons give. For me...I love it and anything lemon is usually good. I think the trick is to know what your friends like and to make sure all your ingredients are the best you can find, and especially good lemons. Serve with a great salad and a killer bread...oh and some really great wine, if you are into wine, of course. Since the dish is so simple, one of those recipes for sourdough that is slathered with lots of goodies, like real butter, garlic, green onions, cheeses....that type of thing.

If you make it, let us know how it goes, please.

 
Here's a really good butternut squash soup recipe if you want to try a new one:

Southwestern Butternut Squash Soup
Serves 4, Cookscountry.com

1 medium butternut squash (about 3 pounds), cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
3 medium shallots, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
Sour cream (optional)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Toss squash, shallots, oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in large bowl, then arrange in single layer in large roasting pan. Roast, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden brown and softened, about 45 minutes. Add ½ cup broth to pan and scrape up any browned bits with wooden spoon. Return to oven and cook until liquid has reduced and vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes.

Working in 2 batches, puree squash mixture and remaining broth in blender until smooth (or transfer all to large saucepan and use immersion blender). Transfer pureed squash mixture to large saucepan and stir in honey, lime juice, cumin, and cream. Bring soup to simmer over medium-low heat, adding ¼ cup water at a time as necessary to adjust consistency. Just prior to serving, stir in cilantro (if desired) and chiles. Serve with dollop of sour cream, if desired. (Soup can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.)

 
Karen, I'm thinking of serving garlic knot bread with turkey peperonni--friend doesn't eat

pork.

I'm still confused (after watching the video twice) why she mentions cutting the membrane out to get more juice...but then boils the lemon quadrants in a bunch of water which is then drained away. Why not squeeze out the juice and save it for something else....like lemon curd?

Was that just a "hint" for future use?

(I hate when my brain gets stuck in LITERAL MODE.)

 
I think it might have been the squash. I've been getting butternut squash in a CSA box that is so

flavorful and sweet with a deep dark orange colored flesh just like I remember from our garden when I was a child. I bought one at the grocery store and the difference in taste (along with flesh color) is so pronounced it tasted like a different vegetable. The grocery store squash would make a boring soup using this recipe. I think the one from the JBG farm would be wonderful, even without using extra spices.

 
oh geez, that never even occurred to me. I noticed this online version had 2 tsp salt

I had the old magazine and swear it just said to 'season with salt and pepper".

Larry would never let me add 2 tsp of salt.

 
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