Creamy lemon spaghetti with a Sichuan pepper buzz

Name: Creamy lemon spaghetti with a Sichuan pepper buzz
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese, Italian
Ingredients: 1 lb spaghetti; salt, for the pasta water; 4 tsp red Sichuan peppercorns (measured whole, before grinding); 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock); 1 cup crème fraîche; 3 tbsp white miso; 2 tsp lemon zest, grated; 2 tbsp lemon juice (plus more if you like it punchy); 1 tsp ground black pepper; 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped; Parmesan, grated, to serve (optional)

Crème fraîche, miso and lemon make the sauce, and toasted Sichuan peppercorns go in twice so your lips hum.

At a Glance

Time

50 min

Serves

Story

Sichuan peppercorns are not pepper at all. They are the dried husks of a prickly ash berry, no relation to the vine black pepper grows on, and the tingle comes from a compound called sanshool that sets off the nerves that sense touch. Asked to match the feeling to a vibration, people in one study settled on about 50 buzzes a second. Heat dulls the buzz, so the handful stirred in at the very end is the one you will feel.

Ingredients

1 lb spaghetti
saltfor the pasta water
4 tsp red Sichuan peppercornsmeasured whole, before grinding
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlicminced
1 cup chicken stockor vegetable stock
1 cup crème fraîche
3 tbsp white miso
2 tsp lemon zestgrated
2 tbsp lemon juiceplus more if you like it punchy
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp fresh parsleychopped
Parmesangrated, to serve (optional)

Method

Pick through the peppercorns before you start and throw out any black seeds or twigs. The husk is the good part, and the seeds are gritty and taste of very little. Measure them whole. Grind first and measure after and you will end up with rather more buzz than you bargained for.

A pestle and mortar is the proper tool. A spice grinder does it faster and no one need know.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot.
Set a dry saucepan on medium heat for 1 minute. Add the peppercorns and toast them for about 1 minute, stirring the whole time, until fragrant. Tip them into a mortar, let them cool, then grind coarsely.
Salt the boiling water generously, add the spaghetti and boil until al dente, giving it a stir now and then. Keep back 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain and return the pasta to its pot.
While the pasta cooks, put the oil, garlic and half the ground peppercorns into the saucepan you toasted them in, set it back on medium heat and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the stock, bring to a boil, then turn it down to medium-low and simmer until reduced by half, 4 to 5 minutes.
Whisk in the crème fraîche, miso, lemon zest and juice and black pepper. Turn the heat up to medium-high, bring back to a brief simmer and season with salt.
Pour the sauce and ½ cup of the pasta water over the spaghetti and toss. Loosen with more pasta water until it runs silky.
Stir in the rest of the ground peppercorns and taste for salt. Scatter with parsley and serve at once, with Parmesan if you want it.