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Destinations > Europe > Italy > Lemon Cream Pasta: The Famous Italian Food from Amalfi

Famous Lemon Cream Pasta - Amalfi Coast

Lemons are famous on the Amalfi coast, and they are some of the largest lemons I've ever seen. They are very juicy and have a hint of sweetness - a unique feature from Campania, Italy. The souvenir shops in Amalfi sell all kinds of lemon shaped souvenirs as well as scented soaps, creams, lemon-infused olive oil, and of course limoncello.

Capri & the Lemon Cream Pasta

When we went to the island of Capri, just a boat ride away from Amalfi, we had read about an amazing lemon pasta with the perfect amount of creaminess. Unfortunately the blog we read didn't have the restaurant name and only mentioned that it was on the promenade at Marina Grande. That blog also had misleading information about the Blue Grotto so I'm not going to link it here.

Anyway, we were really interested in finding this lemon pasta so we walked up and down the promenade asking the restaurants if they had it on their menu. None of them had it! We were going to give up, but then one of the waiters at Bar Aprea confidently told us that the chef could make it for us even though it wasn't on the menu. He said it would be 15 euros/plate. Yes, that's a bit pricey for pasta but about average for the prices on Capri.

The lemon cream was refreshing and BURSTING with lemon flavor. Sadly the spaghetti was slightly undercooked – the center was still slightly crunchy rather than al dente. But the sauce with the extra lemon zest was amazing. Was it worth 15 euros? Probably not. Mostly because the portion was small – even after eating a dessert and a self-packed granola bar, we were still very hungry (and we don't generally eat much).

Our Own Attempts

BUT it did inspire us to try to make it ourselves. I found a recipe that seemed easy enough and then tried it out at our Airbnb. It turned out pretty well. The sauce didn't initially turn out to be as zesty as the one at Bar Aprea, so the next time I added in a bit more lemon zest and about twice as much lemon juice. I also added in all of the lemon pulp - which really seemed to make the flavor burst - Eureka!

At Home Cost of Lemon Cream Pasta in Italy:

• 0,39€ spaghetti

• 1,15€ lemon

• 1,85€ heavy cream

• 0,35€ shallots

TOTAL: **approximately 3,74€ for TWO large portions of lemon cream pasta. That's 1,87€ vs. 15€ per person. Roughly 1/8th of the cost (87.5% off) and at least twice the portion size!

Sure, we didn’t do as great a job plating it as the restaurant did, but hey - we’ve figured it out and it’s much more affordable now!

**I didn't include the cost of the olive oil, salt, and pepper as they were provided in our Airbnb kitchen.

The simplicity of the recipe, the portion sizes, and the ultimate savings makes Lemon Cream Pasta an "Eat in" winner in our books. How about you? Would you rather Eat in or Eat out on this one?

If you're still craving lemon cream flavor then this Amalfi gelato will really hit the spot! If anyone has an easy lemon gelato recipe, let us know in the comments!

Amalfi and Capri Tours

An extremely affordable day trip to Capri runs less than $200! Check out the “Capri Day Trip from Sorrento with Blue Grotto” tour.

You could see Capri (including the Blue Grotto) on a 5 day super-adventure of the Amalfi coast that includes the Path of the God’s hike. Check out the “Walking with the Gods“ tour for details.

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