Heart Shaped Pasta with Belper Knolle and Lemon for Two
by Sean Lawrence
Don’t just say you’re giving your heart to your special someone, make it the star of a refined dish and show them. This preparation of tender heart-shaped pasta with a sauce that is rich yet not overly heavy, balancing cheese and butter with lemon and fresh herbs is as impressive as it is easy to pull off. There is more than enough time to complete the minimal prep while waiting for the water to boil, leaving you able to work on other aspects of a dinner for two. Once the pasta goes into the water, it should take you about 15 minutes until plating.
Belper Knolle
What is that odd little lump of a cheese? The hard and crumbly cheese wrapped in cloth? Belper Knolle, which means "tuber from Belp" due to its knobbly hand-rolled appearance and coating of black pepper. This peculiar and delightful cheese is made in Belp, Switzerland with raw cow's milk infused with garlic and aged until its texture becomes hard and flaky-- perfect for grating over pasta, popcorn, or anything else improved by salty cheese and pepper.
- Boil 4 quarts of well salted water. When the water boils, add pasta and cook for 12 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes.
- Once the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil. Add shallot with a pinch of salt and sauté until it just starts to brown, then add garlic. Once the garlic is aromatic, but before it browns add the lemon zest and cook for about 30 seconds.
- At this point the pasta should be nearly cooked, and the water should be nice and starchy. Add about a half cup of pasta water to the skillet along with the juice from the lemon. Reduce heat to low.
- Drain the cooked pasta, add to the skillet, and cut the heat. Gently toss or stir the pasta to coat. The sauce should be slightly loose at this point.
- About 2 minutes after cutting the heat, add two thirds of the cheese and half the herbs to the pasta and toss or stir to combine. Add more pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Plate! Garnish with more cheese and herbs.
