Giada De Laurentiis Pasta w/Brown Butter Sauce

Holy smokes, it's been a VERY long time since I blogged. I've missed this loads, but between the craziness of summer, which is sadly a distant memory, and a September/October that left me a bit under the weather, I'm ready to take the reins back and share my favorite favorite recipes and disasters with you!

I've taken a few days off work and yesterday thought I should make my hubby a delicious but easy pasta dish by one of my favorite chefs, Giada De Laurentis. I saw this made on Giada At Home last spring and made it for my Dad and Margaret one night when they were here, that night I served it with lemon chicken, which is one of my favorite meat dishes. However last night I wanted something a little less labor intensive, so went with a mild Italian turkey sausage from the red barn market. As usual I changed the way I did a few of the things from Giada's recipe, but that's the joy of cooking, making it your own.

Enjoy!
Danielle

Pasta with Brown Butter, Arugala, Pine Nuts and Lemon Dressing


Dressing:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

•    NOTE: I only use a splash as the butter provides enough grease

• 1 large lemon, zested and juiced

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Pasta:
• 1 pound of your choice of pasta

• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

• 4 cups baby arugula

• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

• 1 cup grated Parmesan

• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts 

• 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained.

•    NOTE: I like to pan fry my capers to take some of the liquid out of them and give them a little bit of a different texture. If you've ever had the Caesar salad at Haro's in Sidney, this is a trick I learned from that! 

Directions:

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper until smooth. Set aside.

For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water (I don't do this).

In a high-sided skillet, whisk the butter over medium heat until melted. Simmer until foamy. Continue to cook until the butter has a nutty aroma and turns a caramel color, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the pasta, dressing, arugula, tomatoes, Parmesan, pine nuts, and capers. Toss until coated, adding the reserved pasta water (I don't do this), 1 tablespoon at a time to loosen the sauce, if needed. Transfer to a large bowl and serve. Serve with extra Parmesan and a protein on the side for a well rounded meal.