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Recipe Detail Page
Poppy Seed Pasta Sauce
Spring 2006
Here's a simple sauce for a pasta dish that can serve as a main course with salad or as an appetizer for a more formal meal. The sauce is made while the pasta is cooking. Serve on your favourite noodles (we prefer papparadelle).
2 lemons
2 tbsp (25 mL) poppy seeds
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
¼ cup (50 mL) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
One 450 g pkg dried pasta
½ cup (125 mL) pasta cooking water
½ cup (125 mL) chervil or parsley leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile zest the 2 lemons and place zest in a bowl. Cut the skin from the lemons carefully removing all the pith. Dice the peeled lemons, removing any pips.
3. In a large frying pan over medium heat, toast the poppy seeds for 30 seconds. Add the diced lemon and cook for 30 seconds, stirring, then pour in the cream and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, then simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and zest.
4. When water boils, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta, saving ½ cup (125 mL) of the cooking water.
5. Add the drained cooked pasta and pasta water to the sauce. Place the pan over low heat and stir until well mixed, the pasta is well coated and the sauce thickened. Add the chervil and season well with lots of freshly ground pepper.
6. Serve immediately in warmed pasta bowls.
Serves 6 as an appetizer, 4 as a main course
