Provolone and lemon pasta

I don’t know if the same happens to you, but sometimes I keep certain recipes in my head for a long time – it’s completely unintentional and there are times it takes me forever to actually make the recipe. I first saw this provolone and lemon pasta recipe several months ago (I believe it was last year) and thought it would be very tasty: a pasta sauce made of cheese and lemon? Perfect. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago: I was buying some cheese for a salad and right in front of me, on the counter, was a package of provolone dolce, which is a kind of cheese I’d never tried before. My mind raced like crazy and I immediately remembered the recipe, which turned out to be a delicious and super quick pasta dish – the only problem was not eating all the cheese before actually cooking lunch. :D

Provolone and lemon pasta
from the always wonderful Australian Gourmet Traveller

Lemon and thyme crumbs:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
50g coarse fresh breadcrumbs
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pasta and sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ large onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 cup (240ml) dry white wine
finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 ¼ cups (300ml) pouring cream
160g provolone dolce, finely grated
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g dried casarecce, capunti, strozzapreti or other short pasta

Start by making the thyme crumbs: heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add garlic and sauté until fragrant (1 minute). Add breadcrumbs, sauté until golden (2-3 minutes), add lemon and thyme, season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and set aside.

Pasta and sauce: cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (6-8 minutes) – while the pasta cooks, make the sauce: heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add onion and garlic and sauté until tender (2-3 minutes). Add wine, lemon zest and juice, simmer until reduced by half (2-3 minutes). Add cream, simmer until reduced by half (2-3 minutes), then add provolone and thyme, stir until smooth and combined (1-2 minutes), season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup (60ml) of the cooking water. Return pasta to the saucepan and add the cream sauce, stirring to coat. Add a little of the cooking water to loosen up the sauce (you might not need all the water). Serve hot, topped with lemon and thyme crumbs.

Serves 4