I Made Frank Prisinzano's Spaghetti al Limone In Quarantine & It Was Perfect

Today we’re gonna chat about my ultimate favorite pasta dish EVER - Spaghetti al Limone. Gosh, even typing it out gets me excited.

Ok, so something about me. I have “Chef Crushes.” Like, lots of Chef Crushes. And, it has nothing to do with anything, but their badassery in the kitchen. This started when I was in junior high—I’d let the Food Network play in the background everyday after school while I did my homework.

One of my newest, really major Chef Crushes is Chef Frank Prisinzano. Frank is the man behind East Village eateries Frank, Lil’ Frankies, and Supper. If you’ve never been to any of them, please run there immediately. All three are some of the best New York City has to offer. Not only is everything this man touches phenomenal, but I love that he is a “no recipe” chef. He hates recipes. He says he’s never written one down in his life and he shows no signs of changing his mind anytime soon. He was recently quoted saying, “I don’t see the point.” He also doesn’t think you should ask someone how long something should cook, “Time is a lie. We don’t even know what time is. It’s not something to rely on.” He strongly believes that cooking times, brand names of ingredients and even specific measurements are something you should figure out based on your personal palate and likings. “See, your palate is like having another dick. It’s so sensitive. It’s so amazing. So much pleasure comes through it when you eat. How could you not develop this muscle? I mean, you masturbate, don’t you? It’s the same thing: Use it. Think about what you’re tasting. Stay lucid.” Oh, also, he says “I’ve been pitched shows left and right. I turn them down, because they won’t make me executive producer. I’m not going to not own my own show? Fuck you. I have no partners. I’m plenty busy making great money. I live in a beautiful apartment, I have a house in Miami. What the fuck else do I need?” See what I mean about badassery? Dude’s a savage and I love him.

So, among his restaurants — Frank, Lil’ Frankie’s and Supper— the most popular dish is, hands down (although you NEED to have the Polenta Bolognese at Supper ASAP), Spaghetti al Limone. Here’s a video of the real Food God (Yeah, it’s not Jonathan from Keeping up with the Kardashians. Don’t even.), Frank Prisinzano, making his famous dish and below is a recipe derived from his very own method. It’s not gonna look like your average recipe because, remember, he doesn’t do recipes.

Spaghetti al Limone by chef Frank Prisinzano 

Ingredients:

Spaghetti
Lemon
Butter
Parmigiano Reggiano
Olive Oil
Salt

Method:

Make sure all of your ingredients and cooking utensils are close by. “You have to move really fast, “ says Frank. Position utensils next to each other, so that nothing gets cold.

Set two pots side by side: one for boiling the pasta and another for mixing the pasta with the lemon and butter.

Boil water and add a handful of salt. (Frank prefers the Celtic kind and loves starchy pasta water.) Put in the spaghetti, and let it cook for no more than 9 minutes.

While the pasta cooks, take the empty pot and place it on top of the pasta water so that it heats from the steam. Do the same thing with the pasta bowls to warm them. “The biggest mistake you can make is to serve this spaghetti on a cold plate, ” says Frank. In other words, the plate should feel warm, so that the butter sauce never solidifies.

When the pasta is ready and very al dente, turn off the burner and keep the spaghetti in the pot with the water. Ladle a couple cups of boiling pasta water into the empty pot to keep it warm. Then dump the water out. Add another ladle of fresh pasta water into the empty pot to begin your sauce. As Frank says, this is the defining moment– “It’s time to rock n roll!”

In that same pot, squeeze two halved lemons. (You can put a strainer beneath them to catch the seeds.) Use tongs to pull out the dripping spaghetti and place it into the pot with lemon water. Add butter. Move the spaghetti in circles with a wooden spoon, so that it becomes coated with the lemon butter sauce. During this process, the lemon, water and butter will emulsify. “The spaghetti acts like a whisk,” says Frank before describing the process in Italian, “Mantecato benissimo.” Throw the lemons in with the spaghetti, so the skins zest the pasta.

Plate the spaghetti with tongs. Pour a bit more lemon butter sauce on top and blanket with parmigiano reggiano cheese. Place the squeezed lemon half on the side for garnish.