This dish is a trip to Italy without leaving home

I’ve never met a creamy lemon pasta that I didn’t like.

This is an edited extract from For the Love of Lemons by Letitia Clark (Quadrille, $55.) Photograhy by Charlotte Bland.

This is a simplified version of one of my most frequently made recipes, which in turn was based on a beloved Nigella Lawson recipe. The original uses double cream, but I prefer to use mascarpone. I have never met a creamy lemon pasta dish that I didn’t like.

Try too my lemon self-saucing pudding.

Take me to Italy now, please. Photography Charlotte Bland

For the Love of Lemons by Letitia Clark.

Creamy lemon linguine

Ingredients

• 200g linguine
• 2 egg yolks
• 100g (½ cup) mascarpone
• 2 tablespoons grated pecorino
• Zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ a lemon
• 30g (2 tablespoons) butter
• Sea salt
• A few basil leaves, torn
• Extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Method

1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water just in case the sauce needs it (although I rarely need it here). Return the pasta to the pan.
2. Meanwhile, mix together the egg yolks, mascarpone, pecorino and lemon zest and juice in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and the butter, and set aside.
3. Throw the sauce into the pan of drained pasta and stir vigorously, over the lowest heat, tossing the linguine well until every strand is coated and saucy. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or lemon juice if you see fit. Add the torn basil leaves, stir quickly and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if you like.

Serves 2, generously