The other night while I was going through my pantry to find something for dinner, I came across angel hair pasta. It’s admittedly a pasta shape that I look over far to often. It cooks in half the time and is perfect for delicate sauces. Since the sauce I had in mind was nice and light, I figured it would be perfect. I was originally going to use canned white beans in my planned menu pasta dish, but I figured the pop of color from the frozen green beans would be too pretty to pass!
This dish is so nice on it’s own, but it would also pair nicley with grilled shrimp or chicken.
Angel Hair Pasta and Green Beans in Lemon Sauce
1 lb angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
4 cloves garlic, fresh minced or grated on a zester
Zest from 2 lemons
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (more if you are a fan of spice)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup pasta water (reserved from cooking the pasta)
6 ounces frozen fine green beans, thawed and cut in half lengthwise
Directions:
Cook the pasta according to package directions in well-salted water until slightly tough al dente, and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water right before you strain it. You don’t want to cook angel hair until done because it will continue cooking and can become over cooked easily.
In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the garlic, lemon, chili flakes, salt, and pepper and cook until the garlic starts to foam. Whisk in cream and reduce by half. Add the 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and continue stirring . The sauce will be the consitencey of thin gravy. If you need to, add more water. Add green beans and pasta. Use a pair of tongs to toss the pasta until it is well coated with the lemon chili sauce. Remove the pan from the heat and serve.
Serves 4 (large portions) or up to 8 as a side dish.
For more recipes visit wineandhotdish.com
Do you have a cookbook
Sorry Tammie, I do not. It’s on my bucket list, but for now this is what I have. A few years ago I was included in one that Forum communications put out because of my writing for The Herald, but not one of my own.