Spaghetti with Lemon & Basil
Spaghetti al Limone e Basilico
Fresh Lemon · Basil · Cultured Butter · Parmigiano
The basil is blanched and blended into the oil, which is what keeps the sauce green instead of khaki. The rest is emulsion: pasta water, cold butter and Parmigiano off the heat.
Written for 10 portions
Three layers of lemon, not one. Cooked lemon in the pan for depth, fresh juice at the end for brightness, and the zest for fragrance. Do not put all the juice in at the beginning.
Ingredients
- Dried spaghetti1 kg
- Fresh lemon juice200 ml
- Lemon zestof 6 lemons, finely grated
- Extra virgin olive oil200 ml
- Cold cultured butter, cubed100 g
- Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated100 g
- Pasta water, as needed100 ml to 150 ml
- Fresh basil leaves80 g
- Fine sea salt, adjusted to taste10 g
- White pepperoptional
Method
The lemon and basil base
Blanch the basil leaves in boiling water for about 10 seconds, refresh immediately in iced water and squeeze completely dry.
Blend with the 200 ml of olive oil, the lemon zest and 100 ml of the lemon juice until completely smooth. Pass through a fine sieve if you want a very refined sauce.
The pasta
Cook the spaghetti in well-salted water until about 2 minutes before al dente, reserving plenty of pasta water.
In a wide pan, bring the lemon and basil oil and about 100 ml of pasta water to a gentle simmer.
Add the undercooked spaghetti and toss vigorously, adding pasta water little by little. The starch in the water emulsifies with the oil and becomes the sauce.
Off the heat, add the cold cultured butter and the Parmigiano, then the remaining lemon juice gradually to taste. Toss vigorously until glossy and emulsified, adjusting with pasta water until the sauce coats the spaghetti.
Chef’s notes
- The signature version finishes it with a very fine preserved lemon and sourdough pangrattato, for a delicate crunch against the silk. Neither is formulated in the source, so it stays a direction rather than a recipe.
- An unusual variation from the same source: replace some of the pasta water with cultured whey, perhaps 100 to 150 ml per kilogram of pasta, for a subtle lactic acidity.
Keeping
DUKAI storage guidance
This is cooked and emulsified to order and does not keep: a finished lemon pasta separates and dulls within minutes. The lemon and basil base can be made ahead, refrigerated at 5°C or below in a sealed container, and used within 2 days, though it is greenest on the day it is blended.
Allergens and diet
Gluten, from the pasta. Milk, from the butter and Parmigiano.
Last refined · September 2026