Summertime tagliatelle, in the middle of fall

My dad sometimes tells me funny/cute stories about my mom and I especially like the ones about her weird pregnancy cravings, like the day she felt like cooking and eating a rooster – no, I’m not kidding. :D

She’d crave ice cream desperately in the middle of the winter and would get under 2-3 blankets to eat it.

Everyone that knows me and knew my mom says that we look exactly the same and they say that we have a lot in common, too, when it comes to personality. Maybe they are right, because I felt like eating summertime pasta in a very cold day. :D

Summertime tagliatelle
slightly adapted from Cook with Jamie

115g (4oz) pine nuts
juice and zest of 2 lemons
a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
¾ cup (180ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups (150g) Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for shaving
½ cup (50g) pecorino cheese, freshly grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g good-quality tagliarini or tagliatelle

Smash up half of the pine nuts to a paste, then put it into a big heatproof bowl with the rest of the whole pine nuts, the lemon juice and zest, and the extra virgin olive oil. Stir and add the Parmesan and pecorino. Season with some freshly ground black pepper.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for your pasta. Sit the sauce bowl on top of the pan while the water’s heating up – this will take the chill out of the sauce and warm it through slightly. When the water starts to boil, remove the bowl and add your pasta to the water. Cook it according to the packet instructions then drain in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the sauce and a little of the reserved cooking water to help loosen it up a bit. The heat from the pasta will melt the cheese, allowing all the lovely sauce to coat it. If you find the sauce is too thick then add a little more water. It’s not supposed to thick – it should be more a dressing than a sauce.

Serve with a little extra Parmesan shaved over the top and a sprinkle of parsley leaves. Eat immediately.

Serves 4