Lemon Cream Sauce
Enjoy this creamy lemon sauce with pasta and chicken like I did. This would pair well with a short, rigid pasta, or a long pasta like a linguine, fettuccine, or pappardelle.
The first time I made this, I enjoyed it tossed in organic pappardelle, topped with a thin sliced chicken cutlet & fresh parsley on top. This comfortably coated ~about 1/2 pound (1/2 box) of pasta.
If you enjoy lemons and citrus, then you’re going to love this sauce that you may be able to throw together with ingredients you already have in the house. The saltiness and creaminess of the remaining ingredients helps prevent that citrus component from becoming too overbearing.
I did not add salt due to the sodium content of the cheese; and to be honest- it really didn't need it! This recipe was flavorful as is; sometimes simpler is better.
Ingredients
2 fresh lemons (will be using both the zest and the juice)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted, sweet cream butter
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
4 medium garlic cloves
Black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
Heat up a saucepan on simmer. Add your butter.
When the butter is melted, add your garlic cloves whole (for flavor). If you enjoy garlic, feel free to keep it in the recipe and eat it later. If you don’t, then you can remove the cloves when the sauce is done cooking, prior to consuming.
When the garlic cloves become fragrant, add 1/2 cup heavy cream, juice of 2 lemons, and zest of 1/2 lemon.
Stir together and add your Parmesan cheese & Greek yogurt.
When the sauce comes together to a simmer, add black pepper to taste.
In the meantime, cook your paste according to package instructions. When the pasta is ready, transfer directly to the saucepan to retain some of the pasta water. Toss together, cut the heat, and enjoy!
Note: The nutrition facts are based on the entire recipe; not portion sizes. If you are looking to reduce the calories & fat in this recipe, you can swap out the heavy cream for additional yogurt, ricotta, or cottage cheese. I had heavy cream that I wanted to finish up, so this recipe was a great way to make use of that. In the future, I would try this with ricotta for a lemon-ricotta sauce.
