Baked Lemon Pasta!

We had this last night.  A weird mixture, maybe - but boy does it work!  And I promise you, you don't want to skimp on the lemon in this recipe - the more lemony goodness, the better this dish tastes!  The absolute key to this dish, is to use the freshest and tastiest ingredients that you can get your hands on. 

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So here we go, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the angel-hair spaghetti, cook until al-dente, drain, rinse with cold water, and then set aside. 

While the pasta is cooking, take a fresh lemon and using a micro grater, remove all the zest - you'll need this a bit later on.

Melt together the butter and oil in a skillet, and when melted, add the finely chopped garlic.  While that's all cooking together nicely, take the zest-less lemon, cut it into quarters, then squeeze the entire lemon into the buttery mixture. Smelling good, hey?

Then you add two cups of sour cream to the pan, slowly mixing it all up together...

Grab that lemon zest, that you prepared earlier, and add as much as you'd like to the pan...I used the whole lot, and I don't recommend skimping!

Stir together, adding plenty of salt, and then in an oven proof dish (I love Pampered Chefs ovenware) pour the mixture on top of the spaghetti and  mix in well.  You can pre-mix in a large bowl, if you'd prefer, to get a really good coating.

Cover with foil, bake for around 20 mins, (375 degrees), then remove foil and bake for a further 5-10 mins, until just beginning to brown.   Take another lemon (I know, it's lemon madness, but just trust me on this), and squeeze some of the juice onto the dish, about a quarter to a half of a lemon.  Then add the grated Parmesan cheese, fresh Parmesan if possible.  Top with the chopped parsley and serve.....

I like to grab the nearest, partially clad mini-monster that I can find, and just sit back and watch him devour every single scrap, and then ask for more! :)

I guess that's another thumbs up for this Mamma! :)

Ingredients

• 1 pound Thin Spaghetti
• 4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
• 2 cups Sour Cream
• ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste
• Plenty Of Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
• Extra Lemon Juice

Also really good served with crusty bread and a simple green salad!