Sometimes I experiment and it's not that great. Usually when that happens I can add a bunch of stuff and "fix" it so that it's at least passable.

But sometimes I experiment and it yields delicious results. Hence, this Brown Butter-Lemon-Thyme Pasta.



Now, I know it doesn't LOOK super exciting, but trust me, it was delicious. And took about 3 minutes to make, not counting the time the pasta took to cook. And, I didn't have to chop anything. And, I used the same pan so I dirtied out fewer dishes. I was really focused on avoiding making a lot of dirty pans and spoons and knives because our dishwasher is broken and the guy is supposed to come today to put in a new one, but he's late.

I just made it as lunch for myself, but I'm definitely going to start making this for company. To make it more of a main course, I would try adding roasted or sauteed asparagus, and if you want it meatier I think chunks of sauteed chicken would be the way to go. I'm not into mixing seafood with pasta myself, but that would be a great combo because of the lemon. It could be a hearty side dish for grilled fish. With the fish, you could serve the lemon wedges from the lemon you have to zest for the recipe, which would be good conservation/utilization of resources.

But enough pontificating on possibilities! Here's the recipe.

Easy Brown Butter-Lemon-Thyme Pasta For People With Broken/Non-Existent Dishwashers
This recipe has measurements to serve 2 people.

Ingredients:

• pasta for 2 people, about 1 1/2-2 cups uncooked (fusilli is best, because it grabs the sauce in its grooves)
• about 2 Tblsp butter
• about 2 Tblsp heavy cream
• zest of 1 small lemon or zest of 1/2 big lemon
• leaves from about 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• about 1/3 - 1/2 cup finely grated hard cheese (I used truffled Italian hard cheese I got at Trader Joe's and that's the type I would recommend. If you can't find that, any hard cheese should work- but the truffles in the cheese give the sauce that certain je ne sais quois. It should be grated on a microplane zester, if you have one, otherwise on the finest holes you've got.)
  
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

Method:

• Cook the pasta according to the directions. Strain and put into a bowl. I used the serving bowl I was planning to serve it in.
• In the same pot, melt the butter on medium-high heat. The butter will get sizzly and brown because the pan is hot from having cooked the pasta. That's OK.
• Add the zest and swirl to mix. Let the butter get a bit brown, it will start to smell kind of nutty.
• Add the cream, a big pinch of salt, and half of the thyme leaves and swirl to mix. Cook about 30 seconds, until all is incorporated. Turn off the heat.
• Sprinkle the cheese in and swirl for about 15 seconds to mix it in.
• Add the pasta back into the pan and mix it up. I used the fork I was about to eat it with to mix it.
• Pour back into the bowl. Crack a few grinds of pepper over it, sprinkle with a little sea salt and the remaining thyme leaves.
• Variations: Add pieces of oven-roasted asparagus and/or sauteed grilled chicken, or serve it on the side of grilled or pan-fried fish, shrimp, or scallops.