Lemon Infused Spaghetti

Photo: Bing

Ingredients

1 box of spaghetti (500g), or any kind of pasta that you like

3 large lemons (rind only)

250 grams sundried tomatoes (marinated in oil)

300 grams shrimp (peeled and tails removed)

3 tablespoons garlic minced

teaspoon salt + 1 teaspoons ground black pepper (or just use Masterfoods 8 to 10 lugs of extra virgin olive oil (about 1/3 C)

2 tablespoons white wine

Juice of 1 lemon

Grated parmesan cheese to taste

Mint and parsley to garnish

Preparation

Peel and wash 300g of shrimp. Add more if you like shrimp. I usually add LOTS. Add scallops too if you have some. Yum.

Using a vegetable peeler, carefully remove the rind of 3 lemons into large strips. You want the yellow parts only, not the white bitter parts.

Slice the lemon rind into thin strips.

Drain the marinated sundried tomatoes and slice them into strips too.

Cook a box of spaghetti according to the package’s instructions. Place the pasta in boiling water with a generous pinch of salt and some cooking oil to prevent sticking. Stir it occasionally.

While the pasta is cooking, fire up a large wok or saucepan and add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

When the wok is hot and smoking, add 3 tablespoons of minced garlic.

Stir fry for 15 seconds till garlic start to smell fragrant.

Add the shrimps to the hot wok. Stir around quickly for about 20 seconds. Shrimp cooks real fast.

Add the lemon rind and sundried tomatoes. Stir them in with the garlic and shrimp.

Add 2 tablespoons of white wine.

Grab your finest bottle of extra virgin olive oil and give it a few lugs into the wok. About 1/3 C worth. You just need enough oil to evenly coat the spaghetti.

Stir fry until the oil is warmed through. Then turn down the heat.

The pasta should be ready now. Drain the pasta (do not rinse!) and shake off as much excess water as possible. Pour the hot pasta into the wok.

Toss evenly.

Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon (from the 3 lemons that were peeled earlier).

Season the pasta with 2 teaspoons of salt or more. And 1 teaspoon of finely ground black pepper.

I like to use Masterfoods Garlic Pepper Seasonings in replacement of salt and pepper in my cooking. It’s delicious and easy.

At this point, TASTE and adjust seasonings.

Note:

Make sure the pasta is evenly coated in oil, or it will be dry to the taste.

Add enough salt and pepper, or it will be bland. Be generous. Trust me.

Add more lemon juice if it’s not lemony enough. Especially if the lemons are small.

Next, give a good shake of grated parmesan cheese over the pasta. I always keep a bottle of this in the freezer for days when I don’t have time to grate fresh parmesan. So convenient!

Slice some mint leaves into strips (stack up the leaves, roll them up and then slice), and chop up some english parsley and garnish the pasta generously with it.

I served the pasta in the wok on the dining table. It looked really good.