Pasta Database

Campania · butter · thin

Best pasta for lemon and butter

Butter, lemon zest and juice, parmesan, pasta water. Light and bright. Thin strands and delicate ribbons.

Region
Campania
Base
Butter
Texture
Thin
Shapes that hold it
8
Lemon and butter, served on pasta

What it asks of a shape

Lemon and butter is a thin butter-based sauce. It wants a long strand, so the sauce coats every turn of the fork, a thin, light shape; a heavy one would drown the sauce, and a ribbon, with the flat surface a rich sauce needs. The ranking below scores every profiled shape on those traits, then the shape's own sauce notes break the ties.

What it is

Main ingredients
butter, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, grated cheese, parsley, pasta cooking water
Place of origin
Amalfi Coast, Campania

Lemon and butter is a light dressing with few parts. Butter and a little olive oil melt over low heat with grated lemon zest. Strained lemon juice goes in, and the heat goes off, because overcooked juice turns bitter. The drained pasta is tossed in the pan with a spoon of cooking water. Chopped parsley and grated cheese finish it. Cream is an optional addition. An older Amalfi method never touches the stove: zest, juice, oil, garlic, and herbs macerate for 15 minutes, then dress the hot pasta.

The dish comes from the Amalfi Coast in Campania. Local cooks use the Sfusato Amalfitano lemon, which carries the Limone Costa d'Amalfi PGI mark. It is a long fruit with thin skin and a high share of essential oils. Spaghetti and spaghettini are the traditional shapes. Fresh tagliolini are the other common choice. Restaurants serve it as a nest of pasta with fresh zest on top. It is a spring and summer dish.

8 shapes that hold it

Capellini, uncooked, on linen

Capellini

Long strands · Campania

There is almost no mass to carry sauce, so the sauce must be nearly weightless: butter, lemon, a splash of oil, a raw tomato, a little broth.

Fedelini, uncooked, on linen

Fedelini

Long strands · Liguria

Light and fast, like spaghettini.

Spaghettini, uncooked, on linen

Spaghettini

Long strands · Campania

Less mass per strand means less sauce per mouthful, so the sauce should be light and fast.

Tagliolini, uncooked, on linen

Tagliolini

Ribbons · Piedmont

Thin and delicate, so the sauce must be light and quick.

Orzo, uncooked, on linen

Orzo

Pastina · All of Italy

Small grains cook in broth or absorb a light dressing.

Gemelli, uncooked, on linen

Gemelli

Short shapes · All of Italy

The twist holds a light sauce in its groove without the deep pockets of fusilli, so it suits smoother dressings: pesto, oil and vegetables, a light tomato, a thin cream.

Farfalle, uncooked, on linen

Farfalle

Short shapes · Lombardy

The wings are flat and the pinch is dense, so farfalle does best with sauces that coat rather than fill: cream with peas and salmon, a light tomato, pesto, a cold dressing.

Linguine, uncooked, on linen

Linguine

Long strands · Liguria

More surface, still no cavity.

Sources