Latest news with #LetitiaClark
Business Mayor
13-05-2025
- General
- Business Mayor
Lemons with everything: Letitia Clark's recipes for creamy baked fennel and spring fregola salad
T o the northern eye, attuned as it is to the muted and russet tones of our indigenous apples and pears, the lemon is a thing of almost mocking brightness and jollity – so bold, blatant and exclamatory in its yellowness. Lemons are variously described as electric, fresh, optimistic, uplifting, zesty, spritzy, cheerful, sunny, lively. They are synonymous with freshness and optimism, and a happy lemon is full, pert and perky, and unapologetically, proudly yellow. Long live the lemon! Spring fregola salad (pictured top) Fregola is a Sardinian pasta made by rolling grains of semolina together to form small balls, then roasting them in an oven. The finished pasta has a toasty, smoky flavour, a wonderful, nubbly texture and is just small/large enough to provide a nutty chew. It is versatile and delicious, and can be cooked like rice or pasta. Here, it is boiled like pasta and left to cool before becoming the basis of a substantial salad. The smokiness works well with the sweetness of young raw courgettes, while toasted almonds top everything off. This is a great side dish for roast fish or white meat, or a nice summer salad on its own. Prep 10 min Cook 20 min Serves 4 as a side 250g fregolaSea salt and black pepper 150g frozen peas 50-60ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon 3 small courgettes, sliced or peeled into strips 1 handful sweet herbs (mint, parsley, dill), roughly chopped, plus extra to serve 150g fresh ricotta 40g flaked almonds, toasted Cook the fregola in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for about eight to 10 minutes, until al dente, adding the frozen peas to the pan a minute before the fregola is done. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse quickly under cold running water. Drain again and put in a bowl to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent the fregola sticking together. When the fregola has cooled, season it well with salt, plentiful olive oil and lemon juice and zest, then taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly (the fregola will drink up the oil). Toss the courgette ribbons through the cooled fregola and pea mixture, then add a little more seasoning if necessary. Toss through the herbs, then arrange on a platter and top with large blobs of ricotta. Sprinkle over some more roughly chopped herbs and the almonds, drizzle with a little extra oil to finish, then serve. Creamy fennel, lemon and pecorino bake Letitia Clark's creamy fennel, lemon and pecorino bake. At one of my favourite restaurants of all time, the Seahorse in Dartmouth, Devon, a small silver dish of sliced fennel baked in cream is often served alongside baked white fish. The fennel is pale, delicate, sweet and savoury, and provides the perfect accompaniment. It looks beautiful, too, in all of its elven, pale green-white splendour. This is a gilded version of that same dish, lifted by a double hit of lemon and given a savoury punch by garlic and anchovies; if you prefer to keep it vegetarian, leave out the anchovies and it will still be delicious (you might also like to add a few roasted almonds, for extra savouriness and crunch). This can be a meal in itself (with a sharp, lemon-dressed green salad, say) or a side for pork, chicken or fish. Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr Serves 4-6 Butter, for greasing 2 large or 3 small fennel bulbs (about 1kg) Sea salt 300ml double cream 50ml milk 1 lemon, zested and quartered 1 garlic clove, peeled and bashed 80g grated pecorino (make sure it's a vegetarian one, if need be) 30g coarse breadcrumbs, preferably from a rustic loaf (dried breadcrumbs would also work) Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling 6 anchovy fillets (optional) Read More The best skincare for prepping your face before makeup Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5, and grease a large gratin dish with butter. Trim the roots and stems from the fennel bulbs, chop off and reserve the fronds, then slice the bulbs lengthways into 3mm- to 4mm-thick slices. Bring a pan of well-salted water to a boil, drop in the sliced fennel and cook for three minutes, until just tender. Drain, dry and arrange in the gratin dish. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the cream and milk with half the lemon zest, a pinch of salt, the chopped reserved fennel fronds and the bashed garlic clove. When it comes to a boil, take off the heat and stir in half the pecorino, until melted. Chop one of the lemon quarters into thin slices, then chop these into little pieces and scatter all over the fennel. Pour over the cream mixture, and remove and discard the bashed garlic. Mix the remaining lemon zest with the breadcrumbs and remaining cheese, sprinkle this over the fennel and cream, and drizzle with the olive oil. Dot over the anchovy fillets, if using, then bake for about 40 minutes, until golden and bubbling.
Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Six best lemon recipes from Sardinia
'T he first lemon I fell in love with was made of plastic and lived on the top shelf of my grandmother's refrigerator,' Letitia Clark recalls. 'It came out on special occasions or, more precisely, for prawn cocktails and pancakes.' Now that she lives in Sardinia, the chef, who trained with Skye Gyngell at Spring and Sam and Sam Clark at Moro, reaches for her favourite citrus fruit in all her cooking, whether to brighten an otherwise dull plate of food or to add a summery fragrance to a pudding. 'Even now after seven years in Italy, I still delight at the sight of a lemon — more so a lemon with leaves,' she says. Letitia Clark with her husband, Lorenzo, and their son CHARLOTTE BLAND Her latest book, For the Love of Lemons, is full
The Guardian
03-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Two-booze tiramisu recipe by Letitia Clark
Literally translated as 'pick me up', tiramisu is not only delicious as a dessert: it is the perfect thing for breakfast after a heavy night, the booze and coffee providing both the hair of the dog and the caffeine necessary. There is no time of any day, in fact, when a little pick-me-up is not welcome. For me the key is the quantity of alcohol. Like a good trifle, it is this boozy kick that elevates the childhood nostalgia of a custardy cream-and-cake combo into something a little more adult and refined. I like to make mine in a big dish or trifle bowl for serving by the generous scoopful, rather than in individual portions. A traditional tiramisu has only two layers of biscuit, but you can scale this recipe up quite easily, or use a tall but narrow vessel to create more layers. Feeds 4 greedy people, or 6 asceticseggs 3, separatedcaster sugar 100g mascarpone 500g strong black espresso coffee 200mlmarsala 80ml brandy 1½ tbsp savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers) 20-24 bitter cocoa powder 5 tbsp, for dredging Place the egg yolks and the sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric beater (or in a stand mixer) until they become thick, pale and mousse-like. Mix in the mascarpone by hand, folding it in until completely incorporated. In a small bowl, mix the coffee with the marsala and brandy. Whisk the egg whites until smooth, creamy peaks are formed, but not so stiff that they become dry. Fold into the mascarpone mixture, incorporating them gently so as not to lose too much air. Dunk the savoiardi briefly into the coffee mixture, making sure they are fully immersed, and arrange half of them on the base of a serving bowl. The idea is not to have them either sopping or still crisp, but somewhere in between. I dip, hold for a second, turn and hold for another second, then remove. It pays to be diligent, as no one wants a tiramisu swimming in liquid. Scoop half of the mascarpone mixture over the biscuit layer. Spread out evenly. Repeat the soaked-savoiardi layer and finish with a second mascarpone layer on top of this. Dredge well with bitter cocoa powder and place in the fridge to set for at least an hour or two. If you like, you can add more cocoa powder just before serving, but I like it when it has slightly melted into the cream. From Bitter Honey by Letitia Clark (Hardie Grant, £28)
