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Fettuccini with Arugula Lemon and Pine Nuts

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It’s Birthday Dinner Good

I’m the biggest fan of all things lemon, especially when it comes to pasta.  This Fettuccini with Arugula Lemon and Pine Nuts is my idea of the perfect bite.

One of my favorite ways to rate a recipe is – Is it good enough for someone’s special birthday dinner?  This one certainly fills that bill!  Another tasty recipe that can be made to perfection with either homemade fettuccini or easy as boiling up some packaged pasta.  I’m making mine with homemade fettuccini (because…….birthday dinner!), but you can make this in about the time it takes to cook any dried pasta too.  

When I asked my husband what he’d like for his birthday dinner, he wanted something healthy and not too heavy.  He loves homemade pasta, and so do I!  Whether you make it from time to time or this is your first attempt, I am sure you’ll be thrilled with your results.  Fettuccini is one of the easiest types of pasta to make for your first try, nothing tricky here.  The dough comes together very quickly and then it’s a roll and a cut and into the boiling water for just a few minutes.  

Baby, You gotta Love This Arugula! 

A key ingredient to this Fettuccini with Arugula is, of course, fresh baby arugula.  Adding spinach, kale or other greens to pasta is a great way to add a little fresh goodness and lots of great flavors.  Arugula is my go-to green for almost everything.  It provides a bitter, peppery flavor to offset any of the richness.  

arugula just picked
Fresh arugula, just picked from the garden 

Arugula is best when it’s young and tender.  I love to grow arugula in my garden.  It loves the cool winters in Southern California.  As soon as it starts heating up towards the end of June, arugula is done-for. 

In the recipe, you can substitute almost any of your favorite greens, but I think you’ll love the added flavor you get from arugula.

Pine Nuts (Pingnolia)

Let’s face it, the price of most nuts are……..nuts!  Pine nuts are especially costly.  Especially when you shop at the grocery store.  You get a tiny little bag for an unbelievably crazy price.  We buy a large bag at Costco and keep it in the freezer.  They will stay fresh for a very long time (at least a year) when kept frozen.  It’s still a bit of an investment, but if you like to cook and bake, there are so many ways to use these really flavorful little nuts.  If you keep them out, no one can resist them!

In Italian Pine nuts are knows as Pignoia.  It’s such a beautiful Italian word. But, the more common English name for it is pine nut. A pignoli nut comes from a pine tree, and various different regions have various different pignoli nuts. They’re small and have a sweeter more subtle flavor than your average nut.

toasting pine nuts

I use them in homemade pesto and even in tart dough.  Here are links to a few of my favorite recipes:

Lemon Tart with Buttery Crust made with Pine Nuts https://wp.me/p9KEfL-e5

Lemon Tart with a delicious pastry made with pine nuts

And the classic, pesto sauce made with pine nuts:  https://wp.me/p9KEfL-2xa

Traditional Pesto Sauce
Traditional Style Pesto Sauce

Homemade Fettuccini with Arugula Lemon and Pine Nuts

You can substitute store-bought pasta in this recipe, especially if you’re short on time.  I’ve been making homemade pasta for a pretty long time now.  It takes about 10 minutes to mix it, about 10 minutes to kneed it, then about 30 minutes to roll it.  There is nothing more tender and tasty than freshly made and cooked pasta. It’s just totally worth the added effort.

Fettuccine refers to a type of pasta shaped like long, flat ribbons. Actually, the word “fettuccine” means “small ribbons” in Italian. It is a flat, thick pasta that can be either fresh or dried. Available in long strands or curled nests, fettuccine is similar to tagliatelle, which is also a ribbon-style pasta.

I like to make my pasta in a large bowl rather than right on a flat surface.  That’s because 1)  It’s easier to clean up and 2) It’s easier to clean up!

Into a large metal bowl or directly onto a flat work surface, add 2 cups of all-purpose flour, and 3/4 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt. Mix to combine.  Make a well in the center of the flour and add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 3 cracked eggs.  Slowly begin to mix the egg with the oil, incorporating bits of the flour until the dough comes together to form a ball.   

Pasta Making – I use a large bowl to reduce my mess

Discard any of the leftover flour that did not come together.  Note that making pasta like so many other recipes, is influenced by humidity during the time you are making it.

 

 

In the same bowl, or a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough for about 10 minutes. This will give the pasta a tender bite, so don’t give up.  Wrap the dough in plastic tightly until you’re ready to roll.

You can make the dough a day ahead and keep refrigerated until time to roll out.

Roll out the dough according to the specifications of your pasta maker.  I use a simple hand crank roller, but you may do it by hand, old school style with a rolling pin, or use your fancy KitchenAid mixer!  No matter the method, it’s so rewarding to make it yourself!

Cut the dough into quarters, take one quarter and cover the remaining 3 with plastic so that they don’t dry out.  Shape the quarter of dough into a flattened rectangle.  The roller has about 7 to 8 notches.  You begin and the widest, which is 1.  Crank the handle, rolling the dough through setting one a couple of times.  You can’t mess this up, because you can just re-roll it.  This also helps if your dough got a little sticky while resting.  Just sprinkle a little flour right onto the dough and onto the roller. Then move on to notch 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.

Rolled Pasta
Rolled Pasta

As you are rolling, try to keep the shape as even on the sides as possible.  You can do that by folding the pasta each time for an even run through the roller.  For Fettuccini, the second to the last notch (6 or 7) is good.  I only use the last setting for the most delicate ravioli.  Now you have about 15 inches by 4 inches of flat pasta.

Cut into fettuccini strips, about 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide.   Make sure to keep all layers well floured to prevent sticking.  Set aside.

Fold then cut pasta
Roll, Fold, then cut pasta
Fresh pasta cut into fettuccini strips

For the Sauce – Fettuccini with Arugula Lemon and Pine Nuts

Bring well-salted water to a boil.  I use about 1 tablespoon of salt in my pasta water.  While the water is coming to a boil, make the sauce.  This is a super easy “sauce” that’s actually just combining the ingredients right into the pasta serving bowl.  

To add great flavor, rub the entire inside of the bowl with the 1-2 garlic cloves until completely covered and the garlic is gone.  It will coat the bowl, letting out just the right amount of subtle garlic goodness.  

Into the bowl, add 1/3 cup of very good, flavorful olive oil.  Since this is such a simple sauce, the flavor of the olive oil does matter.  The more flavor, the better your sauce.  Next, add the juice of 2 lemons plus all their zest with 1/2 cup of the total 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, then whisk until emulsified.  Add 1/4 to 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, mix to combine.  Top with 1 very large handful of baby arugula, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and the toasted pine nuts.  Mix to combine well, set aside.

Fettuccini with Arugula, the sauce is made right in the serving bowl

Cook the fresh pasta, about 2 minutes.  If you’re using packaged dried pasta, then cook according to the package directions, usually around 10 minutes.

Drain the pasta, then pour the pasta on top of the sauce in the serving bowl.  Using tongs, toss well to combine with the sauce completely.  Top with another handful of fresh baby arugula and the rest of the grated cheese.

Bon Appetito!

Fresh Fettuccini with Arugula, Lemon and Pine Nuts

 

 

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