Pasta for the weekend
An easy, creamy bucatini situation that's perfect for the weekend 🌞
Happy Friday! Today, I was planning on bringing two recipes to your inbox, but I am currently the passenger in a car, and typing on a laptop while in motion is not very fun! So, for now I’ll leave you with this Creamy Lemon-Arugula Bucatini that’s as easy as it is delicious.
This lemony, bright, creamy, spicy bucatini is spiked with just a touch of Dijon mustard. My dad made a sour face when I told him that Dijon mustard was my secret ingredient in this pasta sauce, and maybe you’re making the exact same face. But! I think you’ll love how the mustardy undertones pair with peppery arugula.
There’s something so lovely about arugula and lemon together. The arugula brings in that bitey, peppery flavor while the lemon brightens everything up. With hot Italian sausage, it’s a flavor combo straight from heaven.
In this recipe, most of the arugula will cook straight in the sauce. I like to arrange a few fresh pieces of arugula on the bottom of the pasta plate and drizzle them with a touch of extra virgin olive oil. I pile the cooked pasta straight on top. This will bring in a more intense peppery flavor with a little bit of the fresh green crunchiness you lose from cooking the arugula. This method works best with arugula, in my opinion. So if you decide to make this recipe with greens like spinach, escarole, or lacinato kale, simply cook all of your greens in the sauce instead of reserving a few fresh greens for serving.
Ready to cook? Here’s the recipe!
Creamy Lemon-Arugula Bucatini:
Servings: 5–6
1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more if needed
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 shallots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon butter, optional
1 cup white wine
1 cup water
16 ounces bucatini; 1 cup pasta cooking water reserved
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¾ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ cup finely grated parmesan, plus more for serving
3 ounces arugula, plus a few pinches for serving
2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley, plus more for serving
Extra virgin olive oil, for serving
Salt and pepper to taste
Boil the pasta water:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. As you wait for the water to boil, begin the sauce.
Brown the sausage:
Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, for 15–20 minutes or until it’s very well-browned. Transfer to a bowl.
Cook the aromatics:
Add another teaspoon of olive oil to the pot, if needed, and turn the heat to medium. Add the shallot and cook for 5 minutes until it just begins to soften. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Melt the butter into the garlic, if using. Return the sausage to the pot and toss to coat. Return the heat to medium-high. As soon as the sausage begins to sizzle, pour in the white wine and bring it to a boil. Boil for 3-5 minutes.
Simmer the sauce:
Add the water to the pot and return to a boil. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 20–25 minutes until reduced by at least half.
Boil the pasta:
Add a generous amount of salt to the boiling water along with the pasta. Cook until al dente. Remove 1 cup of pasta water from the pot and drain the pasta. Set aside.
Finish the sauce:
Add half the pasta cooking water, the lemon juice, and the cream to the sauce. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Stir in the Dijon mustard. Rapid simmer for 5–7 minutes until it begins to thicken. Once thickened, reduce heat to low.
Sprinkle the grated parmesan over the sauce and whisk vigorously until completely combined. Taste and season to your preferences.
Add the arugula, fresh parsley, and pasta to the sauce. Toss to coat until the pasta is warmed through and the arugula is just wilted. Add more of the pasta cooking water, as needed, to loosen up the sauce. Turn off the heat.
To serve:
Place a few pinches of fresh arugula on each plate and drizzle them with just a touch of extra virgin olive oil. Pile the cooked pasta on top and finish with more parsley and grated parmesan, if you like. Enjoy!
P.S., In non-pasta news…I made corned beef!
Look how beautiful it turned out! I had planned to make this for St. Patrick’s day but sadly picked up norovirus, so I’m a little late…but better late than never! 😊 I blended a couple recipes. I brined the brisket in a mixture of water, kosher salt, Prague powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom pods, coriander seeds, yellow mustard seeds, juniper berries, allspice berries, cloves and I feel like I must be missing something, but I think that’s about it! It brined for nearly 7 days and I turned it every 24 hours. My worst fear is that I would mess it up and somehow end up with rotten meat, but it turned out perfectly!
Today, I cooked it with my dad for a few hours in beef bone broth with onion, celery, potatoes, and carrots. We served it with fried savoy cabbage and bacon. I’ll look forward to testing my recipe again and developing a corned beef recipe for my site soon.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend filled with tasty food!
-kylie
Fabulous!