Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Boil a pot of heavily salted water for your pasta. Cook the pasta, timing it to add straight into the sauce at the end. If you drain the pasta before the sauce is ready, reserve a mug of the pasta water first.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions.
- When sizzling, lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and pepper and cook for another minute or two. Turn the heat to low if needed to prevent browning.
- Add the tomato paste and whisk to combine. Cook for a minute or two.
- With the heat still low-medium, add the cream and whisk to combine evenly. Keep the cream at a gentle simmer by adjusting heat to low if necessary.
- Add the lemon juice and whisk in quickly. You can add this at the end with the pasta if you find it curdles your sauce.
- Add the finely grated parmesan in three separate additions, whisking between each to ensure it melts.
- Add your pasta straight into the sauce with about ¼ cup of pasta water. Let the pasta bubble gently in the sauce for a minute or two to thicken. Add more pasta water if needed to loosen.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed.
- Serve immediately. You can add extra parmesan, black pepper, or fresh basil leaves.
Notes
If cooking dried pasta, start the sauce about 3-4 minutes into the pasta cooking time, depending on how long your pasta takes. Always reserve some pasta water before draining; it helps thicken and loosen the sauce. The sauce may seem like a lot initially, but the pasta will absorb it as it sits.