food & dining
Light Luscious Lemon Linguine
Keri White
A Serves 2-4 depending on portion size and whether
served as a main or side dish
1 lemon
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼- ½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼-½ cup pasta cooking water
½ pound dried linguine or any other long pasta
Chopped parsley or basil, if desired, to garnish
Heat a large pot of well-salted water to boil and
cook the pasta to al dente, 1 minute less than the
22 MAY 25, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Lemon linguine
package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta
water. While the pasta cooks, heat the butter and oil in a
medium skillet. Add the garlic, zest of the lemon, salt
and pepper and sauté until fragrant. Keep it warm on
low heat.

When the pasta is done, scoop ½ cup of water from
the pot (you probably won’t use it all) and drain the
pasta. Pour the drained pasta into the skillet and toss
it with the lemon/oil mixture. Squeeze the juice of the
whole lemon over the pasta and continue tossing.

Add the cheese and ¼ cup of pasta water to distrib-
ute. Add more water if the dish needs loosening up.

Sprinkle the pasta with fresh chopped parsley or
basil if desired. Serve immediately with additional
cheese at the table.

Greek-ish Salad with Crispy Chickpeas
For the chickpeas:
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Sprinkle of cayenne pepper, to taste, if desired
Heat the oil in a skillet large enough to hold the chick-
peas. When the oil is hot, add the chickpeas; be sure
they are in just one layer. Add the seasonings. Keep the
heat over medium-high; you want the pan to sizzle so
the peas crisp up. This takes about 10 minutes.

Crispy chickpeas
Watch the peas carefully and stir frequently, scrap-
ing the bottom of the skillet with a spatula; they may
stick otherwise. When the peas are golden brown
and crispy, remove them from the heat and drain
them on paper towels.

Greek-ish Salad
Serves 2
I used arugula for this, but you can use any lettuce
you like. Just be sure it is well rinsed, dried and, if
you're using large leaf, torn into small pieces.

4
½
¾
1
cups lettuce
a cucumber, peeled and sliced
cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
ripe avocado, chopped
Dressing: 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Sprinkle of salt/pepper/garlic powder
¾ cup crispy chickpeas
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the lettuce, cucumber,
tomatoes and avocado. Sprinkle it with the season-
ings, drizzle the oil and vinegar over the salad and
toss it well. Top it with crispy chickpeas and serve. ■
Keri White is a Philadelphia-based freelance food
writer. Photos by Keri White
s spring progresses, I find myself craving
lighter, fresher dishes — gone are the
soups and stews of winter — as we spend
more time outdoors and embrace simpler, low-effort
seasonal fare.

This lemon pasta is divine as a light main dish or a
side with fish. It can be made pareve and accompany
meat or chicken (omit the cheese and butter or use
non-dairy versions). It comes together in minutes,
really, as long as the pasta takes to cook, and the
result is far greater than the sum of its parts.

I served this with a Greek-ish salad that featured
crispy fried chickpeas. These tasty orbs take the
place of croutons with more nutrition and pizzazz. I
used half for the salad, intending to save the rest for
a future snack, but we nibbled on the surplus while
I prepped the pasta, and they were gone before we
sat down to dinner.

For dessert, I would choose something light that
doesn’t compete with or repeat the textures and
ingredients. Avoid dense, flour-heavy dishes like
cakes and cookies; you’ve got enough of that in the
pasta. I also would avoid creamy, dairy-rich things
like pudding and ice cream for the same reason;
even if you omit the butter and cheese, the pasta
takes on a kind of creamy texture.

Instead, I would go for either a square or two of
dark chocolate, a non-citrus sorbet (melon? coffee?
raspberry?), a bowl of fresh strawberries with a
drizzle of aged balsamic or some lace cookies —
those brittle, toffee-like cookies that tend to be flour-
less. And yes, all of these dessert items are generally
bought, not baked, thus keeping with the simple,
breezy theme of this meal!