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Creamy Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Pasta with Hazelnuts and Fresh Garlic Breadcrumbs

Shanna
A delicious, creamy lemon pasta, made with caramelized shallots, Meyer lemons, mascarpone, topped with hazelnuts and crunchy homemade garlic breadcrumbs.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Additional Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 4 -6 Servings

Ingredients
  

For the bread crumbs:

  • 1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs sourdough or ciabatta pulsed in food processor
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 4 large cloves garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3 tablespoon flat left parsley chopped

For the Pasta:

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup sliced shallots
  • 4 cloves garlic sliced
  • ½ cup white wine or broth
  • 1 ½ cup mascarpone room temperature
  • ⅓ c freshly grated parmesan
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • ½ cup Meyer lemon juice divided
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more if you like spicier
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 pound Bucatini pasta 16 oz ( linguine, fettuccini, tagliatelle or even rigatoni work well)
  • 1 ½ tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 ½ cups reserved salted pasta water

For Garnish:

  • 1 ½ cups hazelnuts roasted and chopped
  • ½ cup parsley chopped
  • ⅓ cup shredded fresh Parmesan

Instructions
 

Make the breadcrumbs first:

  • Place the bread in a food processor and pulse until you have coarse crumbs
  • Heat oil and butter in a large pan and add the breadcrumbs, stirring until starting to turn golden. Add in the garlic, salt and pepper and keep stirring until deeply golden. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the grated parmesan, lemon zest and parsley. Set aside until ready to use. This takes about 10 minutes total.

Make the pasta and sauce:

  • Heat butter and olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat and add the shallots. Stir occasionally for 15-20 minutes until starting to caramelize. 
  • While the shallots are cooking set out a large pot for cooking the pasta, fill with at least 4 quarts of water and add one and a half to two tablespoons of Kosher salt. Bring to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Reserve a cup and a half of the pasta water, drain the pasta. Set pasta back in pan off the heat (or in a separate bowl) and mix with the one-fourth of a cup of Meyer lemon juice. 
  • In a separate bowl mix together the mascarpone, parmesan, remaining ¼ cup of Meyer lemon juice, Meyer lemon zest, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and nutmeg. 
  • When the shallots are almost caramelized, about 20 minutes into cooking, add in the garlic and stir for a minute. Then add in the white wine and cook until reduced slightly. Then add in the mascarpone mixture and stir until heated through.  Add the pasta and stir to coat the noodles, adding in the reserved pasta water a few tablespoons at a time until the sauce is creamy but not too thin. You probably won’t use the entire cup of water
  • Add in the parsley and hazelnuts, reserving a dew teaspoons for garnish, and stir. Divide amongst plates and top with the remaining hazelnuts, parsley, and some freshly grated parmesan.  Can add more red pepper flakes too if desired.