Pepperoni Pasta With Lemon and Garlic

Variation. The sauce will be even more clingy (and tasty) if you stir some grated parmeggiana, a tablespoon or two, into the hot sauce in the pan so as to melt it. Pecorino would also work well as a mix-in. For me, the grated cheese topping is vital, not optional.

If you see a comment saying they would use less pasta next time, it means they didn’t use enough starchy pasta water. This is the key to getting the sauce to cling to almost any pasta dish. I throw salt and semolina into the boiling water to make sure it’s starchy enough and use it in the dish. Works every time.

Tasty! I skipped the fennel seed because it upsets my stomach (anyone else?) and used black pepper. I think the lemony taste of coriander would be excellent - next time! I'll also use less pasta, maybe 3/4 lb, and toss in some spinach at the end to just wilt.

Great recipe, and like all great recipes it lends itself nicely to variation. I made a vegetarian version of this recipe, substituting sun dried tomatoes for the pepperoni. It was excellent!

Great midweek dish. Took 30 mins tops. Added caramelized fennel and 1.5 tbs of marscarpone to final dish. Loved the varying tastes and colors and textures.

Perhaps reserve some of the crispy pepperoni; I found that it became soggy ish when the water was added. Put it on as a garnish at the end. :)

Pepperoni is, indeed, an American creation; it's a very spicy and somewhat smokey salami made with pork, beef and paprika. It is often served thinly sliced on American pizzas - or just with cheese on a cracker. It is ubiquitous in the US. As Melissa notes in her introduction, "if you don't have pepperoni on hand, any kind of salami will work."

I used veggie pepperoni and added a few Kalamata olives. Delicious.

I made this last night. My recommendation would be to use high quality pepperoni or sausage because the stuff I used was too generic and the result was edible but underwhelming. The rest turned out great.

I made this and it was *wonderful.* It sounded so good that I didn't wait to make a grocery run for pepperoni. Instead, I had 3 oz of prosciutto in the fridge, so I fried that up until it was crispy and then crumbled it into the recipe. Delicious. The lemon juice and zest make it a really bright dish. We're currently in the middle of a Whole 30 month so I omitted the Parmesan. Didn't miss it at all.

Yes, but American pepperoni is not the same as the salami you describe. It does not include peperoncini piccanti - its ingredients are only beef, pork, spices (primarily paprika) and a curing agent. It also uses a different curing process than that used for Italian salamis, and the final product has a very fine grain and soft texture. It was specifically developed - as an adaptation of its Italian cousin - to work well as a topping on American pizzas.

Really not as bad as everyone makes it to be. Definitely doesn’t earn the 5-star rank. My only concern (and I did this recipe nearly exactly as it says) is that the “sauce” it speaks of is really just a puddle of rendered fat from the pepperoni. Def a bit intense and will definitely have some heartburn later tonight

Use more tomato paste and a little less oil—and make sure you have enough pasta water to liquify the “sauce”. The lemon and basil really give it life. Very good for an easy meal on a cold and rainy night before curling up with a good book—or a classic noir film.

One of chefs’ best kept secrets is often referred to as ‘culinary fairy dust’. In fact it is fennel pollen. It should be in every serious cook’s pantry and kept close at hand in preparing many dishes, including this one.

I made it according to the recipe though I did stir a tablespoon or so of grated parmesan into the pasta and sauce before serving. The squeeze of lemon really brightens it up. Will definitely make again.