So I got an email today promising a quick and easy vegetarian pasta dinner. I was all atwitter because I actually had all the ingredients in the house! *HUZZAH*

Okay, I fib. I had almost all the ingredients in the house. I didn’t have hazelnuts – but to be fair, people commented on the website that they substituted Pine Nuts in for the Hazelnuts.

YAYAYAY! I thought. I have PINE NUTS in the freezer!

The recipe did not, in fact, take into account that I would burn the said nuts not ONCE but *TWICE* in prepping for this meal.

craptastic.

Little R climbed into my lap after dinner, held my face in her hands and said, “No talking. All better, kay?”

And then she hugged me.

Then J climbed up and hugged me too.

C looked at me and said, “How can you be sad when you have this?”

He’s right.

I think it needed garlic

Spaghetti with Mascarpone, Meyer Lemon, Spinach and Hazelnuts (or Pine Nuts) adapted from The Kitchn

Printable Recipe HERE

PLEASE NOTE: I doubled everything the recipe called for, as it was supposed to feed 2 adults, and tonight we were 2 adults and 2 toddlers.

Ingredients:

1 Meyer Lemon, zested and juiced **I used 2.

1/2 cup Mascarpone Cheese **I used an 8.8oz container.

1/2 teaspoon Salt

a few grinds of Black Pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg **I eyeballed this.

1/2 lb. Spaghetti **I used a mostly full box..that’s what, 3/4 lb? Probably.

5 cups loosely packed Fresh Spinach, washed, spun dry and roughly chopped. **I used 2 bunches of spinach and, since I’m a lazy pants, I used my scissors instead of pulling out the cutting board/knife. It’s more fun with a scissors.

1/2 cup chopped. toasted Hazelnuts **I used 2 Tablespoons of Pine Nuts.

Pre-Nuts

How To:

1- Boil a big pot of salted water.

2- Mix the zest, juice, mascarpone, salt, pepper and nutmeg together in a bowl.

3- Cook the pasta until it’s al dente (1-2 minutes less than the instructions say). Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

4- Return the pasta to the pot, set over low heat, then stir in the mascarpone mix. Add the spinach in and toss to coat, allowing the heat of the pan to wilt the spinach. Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water (more if necessary) to keep the sauce fluid but not too watery. Continue to cook, tossing until the spinach is cooked. Add in the nuts and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Oh – and try REALLY HARD not to burn the nuts.

I burned them TWICE.
It’s been one of those nights.

*sigh*

P.S.

End Result: This was very lemony. We both agreed that the mascarpone was…weird with the lemon. I think a bit of roasted garlic woulda helped even things out. C added parmesan cheese and said that helped to balance the flavors a bit. *shrugging shoulders*

I think I’ll add an egg or two and turn the leftovers into a frittata…. Maybe.

At least it’s a pretty photo