Our Mediocre Thoughts

👨‍🍳 Trevor: To be honest, I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about this pasta. I didn’t think there was a way that something with so few ingredients could taste so good. It wasn’t heavy like a spaghetti bolognese or fettuccine alfredo, it was light — refreshing almost. The lemon and parsley complement the garlic well. It’s just good, okay?

From a Mediocre Chef perspective, this is a fantastic recipe to learn how to cook by feel and guesstimation. Following a recipe is good, but sometimes you just have to cook by feel. How finely you slice the garlic, how long said garlic is going to cook for, how fine the parsley is chopped is all up to you to figure out — everything is being done to taste and by feel. And honestly, what better way to seduce someone than by cooking something for them without having to look at a recipe? It makes them think you’re better than you really are, and really, that’s the whole point of life.

I’d also like to reiterate one of the bonus tips from above: if you can, try making your own noodles once you’ve mastered this dish. It adds that much more and is sure to impress whoever it is you’re making this for.

👩‍🍳 Brittany: I first heard about this pasta when I watched Chef in theatre years back, but I never thought to make this pasta until I saw Binging With Babish’s video. The only thing I’d change about this recipe is to double the garlic, because I’m crazy in love with garlic. (Don’t judge me.)

I’m a huge fan of this recipe because I like pesto — this is kind of like a deconstructed pesto. You have your olive oil, parsley, garlic, lemon, and Parmigiano-Reggiano (which we added). There’s no pricey walnuts or pine nuts (take your pick) AND you don’t have to dirty a food processor to blend it all together. Less dishes to wash = a huge bonus.

This is an easy and budget-friendly recipe that anybody who is looking to up their cooking game should try. Once you have tried it, I guarantee you’ll be hooked. I try to work this recipe into my meal plan at least once or twice a month! It’s that good. It’s also a great recipe to learn basic cooking skills such as cooking your pasta until it’s just right and not burning your garlic (two very important things).