Wonky Summer Pasta

I got this recipe from Jamie Oliver's 30-Minute Meals cookbook. It was totally different from anything I had ever made or eaten before in regards to a pasta dish. Adding cooked pasta to raw ingredients and in the end you have a lovely lemony, cheesey coating. It has a lovely lemony zing and basil bite which is so perfect for summertime. Now if you don't care much for lemon you may not like this dish, but I do think it is what makes the it so lovely. So if you want to tone it down a bit you could cut the amount of lemon in half or a little less to just give it a slight hint of the lemon because it's a must try dish. Most importantly the real key to this dish is eating it immediately after the pasta is mixed with the egg/cheese mixture to be enjoyed properly.

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

125 g (1 1/4 cups) freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving (can use pre-grated but works better with fresh)

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

zest and juice from 2 lemons

a small bunch of fresh basil

500 g / 1 lb of wide noodle pasta (fettechini - wide egg noodles)

Method:

Heat water in large pot and cook pasta according to package recommendations and add a good pinch of salt.

While pasta and cooking prepare the egg/cheese mixture. Carefully separate 2 eggs and put the yolks in a large pasta serving bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add the grated parmesan cheese along with lemon zest and juice.

Now take your small bunch of basil. Reserve some of the small leaves for later, but split the rest of your basil into 2 halves. Pound one half in a pestle and mortar until you have a green paste, and roughly chop the other half.

Add both green paste and chopped basil into the bowl. Stir until everything is mixed together, then season with salt and pepper.

When pasta is cooked, use tongs to move it from the pot into the egg mixture. If this is too tricky, go ahead and drain the pasta but save the water.

Toss the pasta and add cooking water into the mixture until you achieve the silky level you want (usually about 2-3 tablespoons). Have a quick taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper or parmesan to balance the lemon juice. Sprinkle with the reserved basil leaves and eat right away.