Are you getting itchy for travel? Me too.
In particular, I’ve been dreaming of Italy after seeing a friend’s post about his family’s trip to the Amalfi Coast. My husband and I were lucky to visit the cliffside village of Positano years ago for an anniversary, and you don’t soon forget places with such stunning scenery and amazing food.
There’s pasta, of course, but the region also is known for its incredible lemons, which can grow larger than baseballs and are used to make its famed limoncello, along with sorbet, seafood recipes and cake. Its juice also often finds its way into sauces, inspiring me to sate my longing for a trip to Italy with a fresh and fragrant lemony pasta dish I might find on a menu there.
I accentuated the lemon flavor with lemon-infused olive oil, and traded slivered almonds for the more traditional pine nuts. (Pignoli are more expensive.) If you can’t find fresh English peas (they come in bags at Trader Joe’s), frozen are fine.
Pesto is traditionally made with crushed basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese blended with olive oil. Here, thin strips of lemon zest are also added to the food processor, along with lemon juice to imbue the sauce with a taste of sunshine. Asparagus adds to the burst of spring flavor.