Spaghetti Procida / Spaghetti al Pesto di Limone di Procida

A very popular dish from Procida where lemons play a big part in the cuisine of this island not far from Naples.  The lemons are very large, almost the size of grapefruit, sweeter than our lemons and have a thin outer skin but thick pith that is so spongy, it is called bread and gives these lemons the name limoni di pane di Procida.

 

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 4 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 10 basil leaves, torn into bits
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 very large lemons*
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 pound spaghetti
  • Red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 1/4 cup minced parsley

Directions

  1. Reserve a few nuts for garnish and place remainder with the garlic in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add half the cheese and basil and pulse mixture into a paste consistency. Add the juice of two lemons through the feed tube and pulse once or twice to create a pesto consistency sauce. Transfer to a sauté pan large enough to hold the cooked spaghetti. Season with salt to taste.
  2. Cook the spaghetti, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water and add it to the pesto sauce. Transfer the spaghetti to the pan with the pesto and toss the pasta; add the remaining lemon juice, the pepper and parsley and toss again; add the remaining cheese and toss.
  3. Serve hot decorated with a few pine nuts.
  4. *Meyer lemons may also be used in this recipe. They are much smaller, so figure on having about 1/2 cup of lemon juice.

This recipe was featured on Season 29 - Episode 2916.

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Comments

Wylie Fleeman

What a nice, light and tasty pasta dish. Really have enjoyed this worthwhile recipe. Particularly good with fresh fettuccine. Home made or store bought pasta. We have enjoyed this recipe. Yummy!

Wylie Fleeman

What a nice, light and tasty pasta dish. Really have enjoyed this worthwhile recipe. Particularly good with fresh fettuccine. Home made or store bought pasta. We have enjoyed this recipe. Yummy!

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