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. Cook for a further 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. Ensure the cream is at a very gentle simmer; adjust heat to low if necessary.
- Add the lemon juice and whisk in quickly. If you find it curdles your sauce, you can add it at the end with the cooked pasta.
- Add the finely grated parmesan in three separate additions, whisking in between to ensure it melts.
- Add your pasta straight into the sauce with a splash of pasta water (about ¼ cup). Let the pasta bubble gently in the sauce for a minute or two to thicken. Loosen with more pasta water if needed.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed.
- Serve and enjoy. Consider adding extra parmesan, black pepper, or fresh basil leaves.
Notes
Onion size can vary; a half onion in this recipe is approximately 70 grams. If using dried pasta, start the sauce 3-4 minutes into the pasta cooking time, depending on its boiling duration. Always reserve pasta water before draining; it helps thicken and loosen the sauce. This sauce is intended to be quite 'saucy' and will reduce as it sits. It's better to have too much sauce than too little.