Simple Lemon Pasta Recipe (authentically Italian)

It’s best to buy lemons loose (the ‘string’ that packs are sold in is usually plastic – cut before binning, to avoid wildlife getting trapped). But if you have a leftover lemon or two, here are some simple ideas to use them up, to avoid food waste. Although not local, organic lemons are packed with vitamin C.

This lemon pasta recipe (Simple Veganista) is more akin to how Italians eat spaghetti for a first course, rather than a jar of watery tomato sauce. Alongside vegan butter (Flora and Lurpak have no palm oil), it features garlic, red pepper flakes and herbs. Serve with plastic-free pasta and vegan Parmesan.

Keep this recipe away from pets, as citrus is toxic (also in cleaning products). Read more on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe for children, pregnancy/nursing and animal friends). 

Just bin citrus scraps as acids could harm compost creatures (same with rhubarb, tomato and allium scraps – onion, garlic, shallots, leeks, chives). For tinned ingredients, fully remove lid or pop ring-pull over holes before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped. 

It’s worth investing in a good juicer and grater, as this makes juicing and zesting citrus foods so much easier, and you get more out of the fruit, to avoid food waste. The grater also can double up for grating vegan cheese and other foodie items.

It’s best to store whole lemons in the fridge, in a drawer or covered container.

A simple lemon vinaigrette

Rather than buy store-bought salad dressing, make your own to serve with salads and roasted veggies. Just shake together some lemon juice with olive oil in a jar, with Dijon mustard, salt and black pepper. You can add a small spoon of maple syrup to sweeten, or a pinch of salt to make it more tangy. Let the dressing sit for 2 minutes, then shake again.

You can turn this into a calcium-rich creamy salad dressing by adding tahini (crushed sesame paste) alongside crushed garlic and a pinch of cumin – add a little water until it turns silky. Use this for falafel wraps, broccoli and baked potatoes.

Quick lemon hummus

Rather than buy plastic tubs of ice-cold greasy hummus in stores, make your own. Packed with protein and calcium, just blend some tinned drained chickpeas with fresh lemon juice, tahini, salt, a little olive oil and a splash of water. You can add a little lemon zest at the end, or juice if wished.

Lemon garlic pasta with peas (or spinach)

Here’s a quick weeknight dinner. While your pasta boils, cook some sliced garlic in a pan with lemon zest, peas or spinach. Add a splash of the pasta water and a spoon of olive oil and stir until glossy, serve with lemon juice and salty capers.