An intriguing, very refreshing pasta sauce made with lemon and ginger root.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 pound (450 g) linguini
- An organically grown lemon
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- Olive oil
- A slice of ginger root (about the size of a Quarter, or 1-Euro coin)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A small bunch parsley
- 1 clove garlic
Preparation:
When I moved to Florence in 1982 fresh ginger root was extremely difficult to come by, and one time I found it in Florence’s central market (a beautiful wrought-iron building behind San Lorenzo that’s well worth a visit) the woman at the stall asked me what it was for. When I replied Chinese cooking, she asked me if I was Chinese – though I’ve been mistaken for German many times that was a first.
Since then there has been a flood of Oriental immigration (primarily Chinese and Philippino, though there are some other groups as well), and now it’s easy to find Oriental ingredients, including ginger root, in supermarkets. I’ve often wondered how it might be adapted to Italian cooking, especially since the top chefs don’t seem to mention it, at least not in their articles in cooking magazines. So I was quite pleased to find a recipe from Teresa De Masi (see Migliaccio alla Napoletana and Gnocchi alla Sorrentina) on the It.Hobby.Cucina Newsgroup a few weeks ago, which she posted in response to a person who had a surfeit of fresh lemons:
"Now then... Begin by washing the lemon, whose skin should be untreated, quite well. Next, use a thin-bladed paring knife to trim off just the yellow part of the zest, and cut it into thin strips (if you’re lazy, like me, you can purchase a lemon peeler, which gets the job done in a jiffy, and makes making lemoncino, a tasty liqueur, a snap).
"Set a glass [about 1/2 cup I’d think] of white wine to heat in a pot with a peeled piece of ginger, add the julienned lemon zest and a pinch of salt, cover, and simmer for a few minutes. In the meantime lightly beat 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of the lemon in a bowl, with a couple of finely sliced cloves of garlic, lots of minced parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Drain the lemon zest, adding the liquid to the rest of the sauce. Cover the bowl and put it in a cool place, stirring it every now and then. Come mealtime, cook your linguine, pour the sauce over them, dust them with a little freshly grated ginger, and serve."
Teresa doesn't say anything about wine. I would go with a white, perhaps a Fiano di Avellino.
Since then there has been a flood of Oriental immigration (primarily Chinese and Philippino, though there are some other groups as well), and now it’s easy to find Oriental ingredients, including ginger root, in supermarkets. I’ve often wondered how it might be adapted to Italian cooking, especially since the top chefs don’t seem to mention it, at least not in their articles in cooking magazines. So I was quite pleased to find a recipe from Teresa De Masi (see Migliaccio alla Napoletana and Gnocchi alla Sorrentina) on the It.Hobby.Cucina Newsgroup a few weeks ago, which she posted in response to a person who had a surfeit of fresh lemons:
"Now then... Begin by washing the lemon, whose skin should be untreated, quite well. Next, use a thin-bladed paring knife to trim off just the yellow part of the zest, and cut it into thin strips (if you’re lazy, like me, you can purchase a lemon peeler, which gets the job done in a jiffy, and makes making lemoncino, a tasty liqueur, a snap).
"Set a glass [about 1/2 cup I’d think] of white wine to heat in a pot with a peeled piece of ginger, add the julienned lemon zest and a pinch of salt, cover, and simmer for a few minutes. In the meantime lightly beat 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of the lemon in a bowl, with a couple of finely sliced cloves of garlic, lots of minced parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Drain the lemon zest, adding the liquid to the rest of the sauce. Cover the bowl and put it in a cool place, stirring it every now and then. Come mealtime, cook your linguine, pour the sauce over them, dust them with a little freshly grated ginger, and serve."
Teresa doesn't say anything about wine. I would go with a white, perhaps a Fiano di Avellino.
