Lemon Cream Pasta with Spring Vegetables

This recipe is all about a really fabulous lemon cream sauce, and how easily it can transform a simple pasta meal. 

For that matter, this sauce is just as fabulous over grilled or baked chicken, vegetables etc. Here we go!

Ingredients

For the Lemon Cream Sauce you will need:

• Butter
• Shallots and Garlic
• Lemon, zest and juice
• Black pepper and kosher salt
• Chicken stock
• Heavy or Double cream
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Fresh minced herbs

Method

It starts with melting the butter, gently sauteing the shallot and garlic till softened, and then adding the lemon zest and black pepper.  After a minute for the flavours to meld, the stock, cream and cheese are whisked in.  Stir in the lemon juice, and let it all simmer and thicken slightly. Don’t forget to stir occasionally to keep it from scorching at the bottom.  At this point you can taste and season with salt as needed, and you have your sauce.  I like to add a little heat in the form of dried chilli flakes, but this is by no means necessary.  Don’t skimp on the lemon: if you have an extra lemon, use more zest as a garnish.

If you are serving this over pasta, reserve some of the pasta water after the pasta is cooked, transfer the pasta to the skillet with the sauce and toss the pasta. Add the pasta water as needed to help keep the pasta and sauce from thickening or stiffening up.  The addition of the pasta water, and stirring it through the pasta and sauce will help it remain glossy and the perfect consistency.

What Kind of Pasta Will Work?

Just about any pasta you like will work with this sauce.  I have used it with long fettuccini or spaghetti, fusilli, penne, shells, orzo, tortellini, even gnocchi!  Use whatever pasta you have on hand, or the pasta you have a craving for.

Spring Vegetables

How to take this simple pasta dish and make it fresh and vibrant for Spring?  Add in all your favourite Spring green vegetables.  Here are some of my favourite vegetables to toss in: broccoli or broccolini, broad or runner beans, sugar snap peas or sweet peas, kale, asparagus, spinach, or even leeks.

How to Prepare the Vegetables

Some vegetables need some blanching or softening of some sort.  Cut these down to bite sized pieces.  They can be steamed, grilled, even baked.  If you are serving them with the pasta, as I am showing here, the cut up vegetables like broccoli, beans, asparagus can be added to the pot with the pasta towards the very end. They will only require about 45 seconds in boiling water to soften sufficiently.  They can be removed with a slotted spoon or spider if the pasta isn’t quite done yet.  If they are all ready at the same time,  remove the desired pasta water, and then drain the pasta and vegetables in a colander. These can then all be added to the skillet with the Lemon Cream Sauce.

For vegetables like spinach and sweet peas (even frozen from a bag) you can add these directly to the sauce when you add the pasta and other vegetables.  By the time you have tossed everything well to coat with the sauce, the spinach and peas will have cooked enough.  You don’t need to overcook these veggies.  The less cooking, the more the bright green colour you keep.

Finish with Fresh Herbs

Whether you use basil, thyme, parsley, even chives, mince them finely and sprinkle them over the finished pasta and vegetables, along with some extra lemon zest and Parmesan cheese.

Final Thoughts

This Lemon Cream Sauce is just so versatile.  Don’t reserve it just as part of this pasta dish.  If you feel like chicken or pork cutlets (Schnitzel), or even pan fried chicken breasts (like for my Garlic Butter Chicken) this sauce is a perfect sauce to drizzle over the meat.  It will also be a great sauce over baked salmon, cod, grilled pork chops, or over grilled or steamed vegetables.

This recipe is easily adapted from four to one.  Just remember, no matter which vegetables you end up using, you will want to aim for roughly 1 1/2 cups of raw vegetables per person. 

If you make this Springy, Lemony Lemon Pasta with Spring Vegetables, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

Print

Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce and Spring Vegetables

An easy bright lemony sauce brings pasta and fresh spring vegetables together in mere minutes. This lemon cream sauce is also a fabulous way to serve grilled chicken or pork chops, or why not over steamed vegetables or baked fish. It's good to sauce recipes like this in our back pocket!

Course Main Course

Cuisine North American

Keyword Lemon Cream Sauce, lemon pasta, spring vegetables

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Lemon Cream Sauce

• 4 tbsp (60 grams) butter
• 2 medium shallots finely minced
• 3 medium garlic cloves finely minced
• 1 large lemon zested and juiced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
• 1/2 cup (120 mL) chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup (240 mL) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
• 1 cup (80 grams) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt or as desired
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes, optional
• 4 tbsp finely minced herbs like parsley basil, or thyme

Pasta and Vegetables

• 14 oz (400 grams) pasta, you can use whichever pasta you like, whether long, short, stuffed, etc.
• 5-6 cups of fresh Spring vegetables cut into bite sized pieces as needed. See Notes

Instructions

1. Prepare the pasta as per the package directions.
2. For vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, beans etc which will require a quick blanche or steam, they can be added to the pot with the pasta during the last 45 seconds or so. If you find that the vegetables are ready (still bright green but no longer raw, but with a pleasant crunch) but the pasta still needs a few more moments, you can remove the vegetables to a bowl using a slotted spoon or wire strainer like a spider.
3. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.

Lemon Cream Sauce

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet or pot large enough to hold the pasta and vegetables as well, over medium heat. Once warmed, add the minced shallots. Gently cook till starting to soften.
2. Add in the garlic, lemon zest and black pepper, and saute another minute.

3. Add the chicken stock, cream and 3/4 cup parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Add the lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and allow the sauce to cook down, till thickened slightly. Stir regularly. Season with salt and dried chilli flakes if using.

4. Add the cooked and drained pasta and the blanched vegetables, along with any vegetables that didn't require any blanching like baby spinach or frozen peas.
5. Stir everything gently till well coated with the sauce. If you find the sauce and pasta too stiff, add some of the reserved pasta water to help loosen the sauce and keep it glossy.
6. Serve with extra lemon zest if you have an extra lemon, as well as chopped herbs and final amount of parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

Vegetable options
Green beans, broccoli, broccolini, leeks, sweet peas, sugar snap peas, baby spinach, kale, asparagus etc.
Cut any that require it into bite sized pieces. The sweet peas (like from a bag of frozen peas) and the baby spinach really don't need cooking, so these can be added directly into the sauce when stirring in the cooked pasta and other vegetables.