This is another of those luxuriously good pasta dishes that are ridiculously easy to make.

Combining lemon juice and zest with crème fraîche creates an unusual and absolutely delicious sauce. Frankly, the turkey (or veal, if you prefer) meatballs were almost redundant and I’d serve this dish without them as an appetizer, making it perfect for vegetarians.

You could use regular heavy cream with great results but it lacks that certain tang unique to crème fraîche and which I’m quite addicted to. Most good supermarkets sell it these days.

I like to use pappardelle (egg) noodles for their silky voluptuousness. It just wouldn’t be the same made with spaghetti or little pasta shapes.

The addition of arugula (roquette) adds a lovely touch of green but even that could be considered overkill; that’s how good this recipe is!

PAPPARDELLE with a LEMON CREAM SAUCE (and TURKEY MEATBALLS)

(Serves 4-5)

Ingredients for the pasta:

3 oz (75g) of butter

1/2 pint (300ml) of crème fraîche (or heavy cream)

The finely grated zest of 1 small unwaxed lemon

3 fl oz (80ml) of freshly squeezed lemon juice

12 oz (350g) of pappardelle egg noodles (home made, even better!)

2 oz (50g) of Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated

2 oz (50g) of baby arugula/roquette

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the meatballs (optional):

17 oz (500g) of ground turkey (or veal), preferably organic

The finely grated zest of 1 small to medium unwaxed lemon

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (I use grape seed or avocado oil for frying)

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Action:

Prepare the meatballs first. Squish together the turkey mince, lemon zest, sea salt and black pepper to taste. With wet hands, form 20 walnut-sized meatballs.

Meanwhile, put 2/3 of the butter, all of the cream, lemon juice and zest in a bowl and set it over a pan of barely simmering water, covered. Put the remaining butter in a large serving bowl and stick it in the oven on ‘warm’.

Heat the water for the pasta (note – pappardelle usually takes less time than regular pasta).

Heat the oil in a wide sauté pan and cook the meatballs for 12-15 minutes, turning regularly until nicely browned.

Cook the pappardelle and just before draining, throw in the arugula to wilt it then drain the pasta and arugula quickly and transfer it to the warmed serving bowl – toss gently in the melted butter.

Pour the warmed lemon and cream sauce over the pasta, season with sea salt and a generous amount of black pepper and toss again to combine.

To serve, top with the meatballs and pass the grated cheese around separately.