In Comfort Me with Apples, Ruth Reichl attributes the original recipe to Danny Kaye, but lemon and cream seems such a simple, natural combination that we suppose people were putting it on pasta long before Danny Kaye was born.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　1 lemon

　　1/4 cup unsalted butter

　　1 cup heavy cream

　　1 pound fresh fettuccine or dried spaghettini

　　1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

　　Salt and pepper

　　

Step 1

Bring a large covered pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, grate the lemon peel (about 2 teaspoons of zest, see page 295) and squeeze the lemon (about 3 tablespoons of juice).

　　

Step 2

In a small skillet or saucepan on low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the cream and heat gently. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Turn off the heat.

　　

Step 3

When the water boils, cook the pasta until al dente (2 or 3 minutes for fresh pasta, longer for dried). Set aside a cup of the hot pasta-cooking water and drain the pasta.

　　

Step 4

Place the hot drained pasta in a large serving bowl, add the lemon cream sauce, and toss. Add some or all of the reserved hot water if more liquid is needed. Toss in the grated Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

　　

VARIATIONS

Step 5

Add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped chives, about a cup of hot, cooked green peas, and some red pepper flakes when you add the cheese.

　　

Step 6

For a lighter version, use olive oil in place of butter and half-and-half instead of cream. If you have some arugula in your refrigerator, here’s a great way to use it up: Put about 3 cups of loosely packed arugula leaves in the bottom of the serving bowl; it will wilt when you add the hot pasta.

　　From Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table. Copyright © 2017 by Moosewood Collective. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. Buy the full book from ThriftBooks or Amazon.