I have 24 kinds of chilies and more than 50 dried herbs and seasonings in my spice drawer. There are dozens of oils and vinegars stuffed into my pantry, fresh herbs in pots on the deck, and a collection of condiments that I suspect is multiplying like bunnies behind the refrigerator door.
Yet the items I reach for day after day, meal after meal, number exactly three: salt, olive oil and lemon. They are my kitchen workhorses, the ingredients I always have on hand that I can use to create pretty much anything I feel like eating, in dishes savory or sweet. Even when I add herbs, spices or condiments to the pan, these three are where I start.
Here’s how to prepare a typical weeknight dinner on autopilot: Select the main ingredient — beef, chicken, lamb, fish, tofu, broccoli, beans or what have you. Season it with salt, slick it with olive oil, drizzle it with lemon. The cooking method doesn’t matter. You can roast it, sauté it, fry it, bake it or stew it; olive oil works as the cooking medium, while lemon and salt provide the snap. Or whisk the three of them into a dressing to pour on top of anything raw, steamed and boiled.
Naturally, when you’re employing this minimalist strategy, the quality of the ingredients matters. Buy the good stuff, splurging on the olive oil as if it were wine. If you can, taste it before buying. I keep at least two kinds of olive oil on hand: a lesser (and less-expensive) oil for cooking and a better one for drizzling.
Make sure your lemons are fresh, and refrigerate them. As nice as that bowl of lemons looks on your counter, they will keep a lot longer in the fridge without drying out and losing the aroma of their sunflower-yellow zest. Then grate said zest and use it alongside the juice whenever you want an extra lemony punch. And keep in mind that golden, caramelized lemon slices — either fried in olive oil or roasted — will heighten the simplest of weeknight meals. Try tossing them into the standard pasta with Parmigiano-Reggiano and watch a whole new world of flavors and textures open up on your plate.
Last but not least, the salt. I probably have half a dozen kinds, from Hawaii red salt to Danish smoked salt, not to mention the flavored salts I keep getting as gifts. These are fun to play with, but generally I use kosher for cooking, fine sea salt for seasoning and baking, and flaky sea salt for finishing.
With a little care, this commonplace combination will make any ingredient shine like a star. And the cook as well.
Pasta With Fried Lemons and Chili Flakes
Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
4 lemons
1 lb. linguine or spaghetti
4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
1 tsp. kosher salt, more as needed
Pinch of sugar
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 tsp. chili flakes, more to taste
2/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, more to taste
Black pepper, as needed
1/2 cup celery leaves, coarsely chopped (optional)
1/3 cup parsley, coarsely chopped (optional)
Flaky sea salt, for garnish
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Finely zest two of the lemons and set aside. Trim the tops and bottoms off the other two lemons and cut lengthwise into quarters; remove seeds. Thinly slice the quarters crosswise into triangles. Blanch the lemon pieces in the boiling water for two minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a dish towel. Blot dry.
In the boiling water, add pasta and cook until just barely al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat. Add the dried lemon pieces and season with a pinch each of salt and sugar. Cook until the lemons are caramelized and browned at the edges, three to five minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Melt the butter with the remaining oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the chili flakes and zest of both lemons; cook until fragrant. Whisk in the reserved pasta water.
Toss in pasta, juice of one lemon, cheese, pepper and the remaining salt. Cook until pasta is well coated with sauce. Toss in the caramelized lemon and the celery leaves and parsley if using. Taste and add lemon juice if needed. Serve, topped with a drizzle of oil, more cheese if you like, and a sprinkle of sea salt.
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