Creamy Pasta al Calamansi with Crispy Garlic
September 22, 2026
About this Recipe
I riffed on the classic Fettucini al Limone and gave it a Filipino facelift.
I always keep a bottle of calamansi extract in my fridge. We use it to enhance our housemade cocktails and teas, but I also use it for cooking. It’s an easy swap for anyone who uses lemon or lime and wants to add a little nuance to their citrus flavor profiles. In this recipe, I swapped lemon juice in the classic dish, Fettucini al Limone, with calamansi juice. I also added crispy garlic, a popular Filipino condiment, as a garnish for this dish which gives this creamy pasta dish some very pleasant and welcome textural nuance as well as deepened umami to the overall profile. It’s a tasty weeknight recipe that comes together in the time it takes to cook the pasta.
I wrote this recipe to streamline cooking the garlic topping and sauce preparation while the pasta water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks. However, if you have store-bough crispy garlic, you can skip that step and use what you have to garnish. If you feel more comfortable cooking the pasta all the way, then making the cream sauce, do that as well. For the best results, prepare the cream sauce as soon as you’re ready to add pasta to the sauce. Keep in mind that the more the pasta rests and cooks with the citrus juice, the more chance it has to curdle. Prepare the sauce then immediately toss in the pasta.
Serve with a side salad or your favorite breaded cutlet.
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound fettuccine or pasta of your choice
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 lime, zested, and half cut into wedges
- 5 tablespoons of calamansi juice
- 3 egg yolks
- Fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat and cook fettucini according to package instructions. Meanwhile, prepare the crispy garlic topping; 4 minutes after dropping the pasta in boiling salted water, prepare the cream sauce.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat, add 1/4 cup olive oil and the chopped garlic, stir to coat and combine. Cook the garlic, stirring until the garlic is medium-deep golden brown and crisp, 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the garlic to a paper towel lined plate and lightly season with salt. Scrape the oil into a heatproof jar and reserve the garlic oil for another use. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.
- In the same skillet, whisk together 2 cups heavy cream, zest of 1 lime, 5 tablespoons calamansi juice and 3 egg yolks. Once combined, bring the mixture to a hard simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture has began to thicken, 6-7 minutes. Turn heat to very low or off depending on how much time is left for the pasta to cook. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt or citrus, as needed.
- Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and when the pasta is cooked, using tongs, transfer the pasta from the boiling water into the cream sauce over low heat, tossing to coat. Drizzle pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed, until the mixture is coated in glossy, creamy sauce and warmed through.
- Serve pasta with a lime wedge, a good grind of black pepper and a garnish of crispy garlic.
