We had two encounters with mascarpone cheese in pasta recently. One was seeing this Tagliatelle with Spinach, Mascarpone, and Parmesan over on Jamie Oliver's website. The other was catching the tail end of a British cooking show where the host was making mascarpone-lemon spaghetti. (We're sensing an English theme.) This is our version, which borrows a bit from both but has the bright flavor of Meyer lemon plus toasted hazelnuts, which turned out to be the best ingredient of all...
Mascarpone is a soft, scoopable, sweet cheese. Not sugar sweet, but mild and milky with just the tiniest bit of tang. The Meyer lemon has that same quality: sweeter than a regular lemon but still tart. They make a great sauce together, lighter than a typical cream sauce but still silky and rich.
The hazelnuts were a last-minute addition. We made this pasta once without them, and we even tested a few bites with the nuts sprinkled on top before we dumped the whole lot into the pan. But they really elevated this dish to something special, in our opinion, by adding another texture and flavor.
We didn't bother pre-cooking the spinach. Instead, we threw it in with the warm pasta and sauce, adding a tiny bit of pasta water to keep the mixture loose while we continued to heat it over a low flame. The spinach wilts in no time. In fact, the entire dish doesn't take more than 15 minutes to pull together.
Tester's Notes
Ever since Elizabeth shared this recipe a few years ago, I've been dying to try it. I finally got it on the menu last week and, honestly, couldn't stop shoveling it into my mouth. It was simultaneously sophisticated and absurdly fast and easy.The sauce is just a handful of ingredients — lemon, mascarpone, salt and pepper. Toss with freshly-cooked pasta and wilted spinach, and it's ready! The hazelnuts are a smart, delicious touch.
I could see adding a slice or two of garlic, to add one more element, but it's really not necessary. Regardless, it is a tremendously delicious and easy little pasta dish — satisfying and beautiful.
- Faith
Spaghetti with Mascarpone, Meyer Lemon, Spinach, and Hazelnuts
Serves two as a main course1 Meyer lemon, zested and juiced (about 3 tablespoons juice)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of fresh pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 pound spaghetti
5 cups (loosely packed) fresh spinach, washed, spun dry, and roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts
Combine the zest, lemon juice, mascarpone, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
Bring a pot of water to boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta until al dente, taking it off the heat about 1 to 2 minutes before you would normally remove it. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
Return the pasta to the pot, and set over low heat. Stir in the mascarpone sauce. Add the spinach and toss so that the spinach begins to wilt. Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water (more if necessary) to keep the sauce fluid but not too watery. Continue to cook and toss until the spinach is cooked. Add the hazelnuts and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Related: Seasonal Spotlight: Meyer Lemons
(Images: Faith Durand)
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i don't like hazelnuts, but could see this being great with the more predictable but yummy pinenut.
Ooo this sounds good.
Is there a good place to find hazelnuts? I have a small town grocery store and a target so my options are limited and neither place has them...
Staar84- You could certainly use pinenuts, as akostalas suggested. They might be easier to find and would go well with the rest of the ingredients (I'm just not a huge pinenut fan, hence the hazelnuts). As for buying hazelnuts, there are some online sources (try nutsonline.com). Make sure to get blanched hazelnuts, without the skins.
I wonder how this would taste using ricotta instead of mascarpone?
I made this substituting ricotta for mascarpone...I used a little more than 1/2 cup of ricotta, and used less pasta water. While not as creamy, it was just as tasty!
I've made similar pasta with plain chevre instead of Mascarpone with good results.
I made this last night and it was delicious! My BF and I both loved it. I couldn't find meyer lemons, just regular ones, but it was still really good.
I served it along side roasted halibut.
I am making this tonight! I have everything in fridge for this. YUM
You could also substitute chopped walnuts for hazelnuts. I love the flavor combination of cheese, walnuts and spinach. Trying this tonight!
Oh dear. Never has substituting a few ingredients led me so far astray! I subbed chevre for mascarpone, pine nuts for hazelnuts, and ramps for spinach. The combination resulted in a bitter, harsh, sadly almost inedible flavor. What a shame.
Made it! Loved it!
I'm going to make this TODAY with a few substitutions of things I have on hand: rapini instead of spinach, garlic & herb Fromage Blanc instead of mascarpone, and walnuts instead of hazelnuts. I think it will still be great-- light, yet fall-y
WOW!That sounds tastey!
Can I use Creme Fraiche instead? I do have half container sitting in my refrigerator...
This recipe is a winner! I made it this weekend on a cold, snowy day and it was so satisfying and delicious! The only substitution I made was walnuts as I couldn't find hazelnuts. I toasted the walnuts and was very pleased with the results. Thank you to The Kitchn for a wonderful vegetarian recipe!
Just made this last night, in preparation for the dinner party that will have this as a main course! It was AMAZING; truly something special. It's just starting to warm up here, and this meal hints of spring while being deeply satisfying. I'm by nature a tinkerer with recipes, and I left this one alone (except for a touch of kosher salt to finish). My meyer lemons were pretty tiny, almost lime size, so I had to use two to get the recommended amount of juice. I plan on making the lemon marscapone mixture ahead of time, so when the time comes all I have to do is assemble the pasta. I also used baby organic spinach, which was small enough that I didn't need to chop it up smaller. I almost forgot to toast the hazelnuts, but remembered in time to toss them on a foil-constructed 'mini cookie sheet' in my toaster oven, which toasted them just fine with only one stirring. Way too good for how little effort it required! Love this recipe.
I am looking to make this for 6 people tomorrow, but I only have 8 oz of marscapone cheese. If I triple the recipe and use the 8 oz of marscapone plus 4 oz of parmesan, should I still use three lemons, or should I use fewer lemons? Any help would be appreciated :)