Serves 6
unwaxed lemons 4, preferably from amalfi coast sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 500g calamarata pasta or mezzi paccheri di Gragnano 3 cloves garlic 1 small bunch of fresh fl at-leaf parsley extra virgin olive oil a little 1 mild red chilli fi nely chopped 300g monkfi sh fi llets, cut into small pieces 35ml white wine 100g, cleaned samphire 1 teaspoon salted capers
With a peeler remove the peel from the lemons in large strips. Pour 5 litres of water into a large pan, add the lemon peel and bring to just under a simmer (if you have a kitchen thermometer this will be 80–90°C). Cover with a lid and leave to infuse for 2 hours. Passthe infused water through a fi ne sieve into a large bowl (you want to remove the pieces of lemon peel, as if they fi nd their way into the fi nished sauce they will be bitter), then return the water to the pan.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, then put in the pasta and cook for about 12 minutes (or 3 minutes less than the instructions on the packet). Meanwhile, put one of the cloves of garlic on a chopping board and crush it into a paste with the back of a large knife.
Put the parsley on top and chop fi nely, so that the garlic and parsley combine and release their fl avours into each other. Finely chop the remaining garlic cloves. Heat a little olive oil in a large sauté pan and add the garlic and the chilli. Cook gently for 2 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the monkfi sh and cook for another 2 minutes, pour in the wine and let it bubble up to evaporate the alcohol, then stir in a ladleful of the cooking water from the pasta. Drain the pasta, reserving the rest of the water.
Add the pasta to the sauce, with enough of the cooking water to almost cover it. Add the samphire and capers and let the liquid reduce by half, until it coats the pasta. Finish with the parsley and garlic and olive oil and spoon into a warmed serving dish. If you like, fi nish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
