3 Easy Italian Recipes for Summer by Letitia Clark

SAFFRON TAGLIATELLE WITH FRESH TOMATO AND LEMON 

SERVES 2

This is a zingier, fresher take on the beloved and classic pasta al sugo. It’s important to use the sweetest tomatoes (datterini) to counteract the sharpness of the lemon. A few anchovies melted in at the beginning are also very welcome, if you’re an anchovy addict like me. Olives are a good addition, as are capers, parsley, tuna, rocket (arugula)... I could go on. Otherwise, keep it simple and relish the sweet-sour of those classic cornerstones of Mediterranean cookery: lemon and tomato. 

Making your own tagliatelle is easy and satisfying and allows you to flavour and colour it with saffron, but if you’re short on time add a pinch of saffron to the sauce and use ready-made tagliatelle. Grating an onion provokes stinging tears, but it is quick and effective at extracting all of its sweetness once gently sautéed in olive oil. I grate it directly into the pan with the oil. 

FOR THE TAGLIATELLE: 

• 2 eggs 

• 200 g (7 oz/11/3 cups) semola or 00 flour, plus extra for dusting 

• 1/2 teaspoon ground saffron 

FOR THE SAUCE: 

• 2 tablespoons best-quality extra virgin olive oil 

• 1/2 small white onion 

• 200 g (7 oz) Datterini tomatoes  

• 1 lemon, a few strips of peeled zest and a squeeze of juice  

• A good pinch of sea salt 

• 1 teaspoon sugar or light honey  

• Marjoram, basil or parsley leaves, to serve 

First, make the pasta. Using either a stand mixer with a dough hook or your hands, mix the eggs into the semola, then add the saffron and then knead it into the dough until smooth. Leave to rest wrapped in cling film (plastic wrap) for about 20 minutes. 

Roll out the dough until just thin enough to see through (about the thickness of a penny). Cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) wide strips by hand or using your pasta machine and set aside, well dusted with extra semola to stop it sticking. 

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a deep frying pan (skillet) over a low heat and grate the onion into it. Sauté until soft and translucent. Halve the tomatoes, throw them in and turn the heat up (it will spit and hiss a bit, but not to worry). Cook until the tomatoes begin to collapse, then add the strips of lemon zest and continue cooking for a few minutes. Add the salt, sugar or honey and taste for seasoning. Add a squeeze of the lemon juice. 

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta and stir through the sauce, adjust the seasoning and serve with plenty of marjoram, basil or parsley scattered over, an extra drizzle of oil and a grating of fresh lemon zest. 

MELON, LEMON AND BASIL SORBET 

SERVES 6 

The delicate, almost ethereal sweetness of melon works beautifully when sharpened by plentiful fresh lemon juice and enhanced by fragrant basil. Playing on the peppery basil of this sorbet, I like to serve it with a drizzle of my most fragrant olive oil. It’s Mediterranean summer in a mouthful. 

• 200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) water 

• 150 g (51/2 oz/3/4 cup) sugar 

• A few basil leaves, torn, plus extra to serve  

• 1 medium melon (I like Cantaloupe) 

• Juice of 4 lemons 

• A little extra virgin olive oil, to serve 

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes until you have a simple sugar syrup. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Add the torn basil leaves, stir and leave to infuse at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. 

Cut the melon into chunks, remove the peel and discard the seeds. Blitz the melon flesh with the syrup and then strain through a sieve (fine-mesh strainer). Add the lemon juice, tasting as you go to check the sweetness. 

Churn in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions or freeze in a shallow tray as a granita, raking it with a fork every so often as it freezes. Serve decorated with a few basil leaves.