Brown Butter and Lemon Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 package Spaghetti / linguine or pasta of choice

• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil 

• 2 Tbsp. Butter 

• 2 Garlic cloves, minced

• 1 small Shallot, minced 

• 1 Lemon, juiced

• Parmesan cheese to taste

• Parsley / basil, chopped - a few sprigs

Directions

1. Cook pasta: Bring water to boil. Salt the water so that it almost tastes like the ocean, which will give the pasta a lot of flavor when it's cooked in it. Add pasta and cook until al dente (check package for timing).

2. Make brown butter: When the pasta is about 4 minutes from being finished, heat a sauté / frying pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and butter. Swirl the pan every so often and let the butter turn an amber color (~2 to 3 minutes). You'll also be able to smell a delicious, nutty flavor. When butter is amber, add garlic and shallots. At this point, hopefully your pasta is also done. If not, remove pan from heat so that the garlic and shallots don't burn.

3. Finish pasta: When the pasta is about done, move the pot next to your pan. Use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta over to your brown butter sauce (be careful of splatter) and add a ladle (~1/2 cup) of pasta water to the pan. The flavor and starchiness of the water will form a luscious sauce. Toss pasta in sauce until all the water has been absorbed. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Finish with lemon juice and parmesan cheese. Add herbs and serve piping hot.