Lasagna alla Portofino / London Summer❣️
A recipe, little things I love and a dream menu for your week ahead.
After five days of gelato, amaro, pasta and three different types of focaccia for breakfast, the Ryanair flight returning home brought me back to reality and left me sick in bed with a dizzying spell of vertigo. A few days of rooms feeling like they were spinning, which resulted in zero appetite, by the end of the week, it was a joy to be hungry and well enough to plan a party.
The more I entertain, the more I know that doing less is a lot more fun for the cook in the kitchen. Yesterday was the summer solstice, a 31°C day, and I was hosting eight friends outside in my garden to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday. After daydreaming of the menu during the week, I knew I wanted something very simple that I could prepare in advance to build the other dishes around (recipe below).
To be able to actually enjoy the parties you host, preparation is key and long gone are the days when I’d spend them standing in the kitchen stirring something. The only ‘cooking’ I had to do during the entire evening was dressing the salads and whipping the cream to top the birthday cake, because the point of parties is pleasure.
All my love until next Sunday,
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I have made and eaten countless plates of pesto in all forms, and years ago, when I was doing some work with the tourist board in Genoa, I even got certified by the Palatifini Cultural Association (the Italian gastronomic institute that runs the World Championship for Genoese Pesto). I’ve spread it over crisp focaccia, folded it through ribbons of handkerchief pasta and piles of trofie and eaten it with a spoon straight from the bowl, but I’ve never made pesto lasagna until this weekend.
Lasagna alla Portofino is a signature dish from its namesake town and is delightfully decadent. I made the whole thing the night before and baked it just before we sat down to eat it alongside a simple tomato salad, roasted courgettes with stracciatella and slow-cooked porchetta. Also, when I interviewed Ruthie Rodgers last year for the Liguria cookbook I worked on, she said she only ever makes it with a blender, so who am I to argue?
A double batch of Delia Smith’s Béchamel sauce
500g lasagna sheets (I used fresh egg ones)
150g basil, washed and stalks removed
60-80g pine nuts
2 big cloves of garlic, peeled
40g parmesan
40g Pecorino Romano
150-200ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt to taste
Start by making a double batch of Delia Smith’s Béchamel sauce as you want to leave it to cool while you’re making the pesto, so it’s not too hot when you start to assemble the lasagna.
Add the basil, pine nuts, garlic, cheese and 150ml of the olive oil to a blender and pulse until combined. You can add more pine nuts or olive oil as you go to achieve the right consistency before you taste for seasoning. Pesto is personal, and it should be just as you like it.
Into a large baking dish, add a spoonful of the Béchamel sauce to create an even layer on the bottom of the dish. Create layers on top of this of lasagna sheets > pesto > Béchamel sauce, until you’ve used all of everything.
Scatter over a few extra pine nuts over the top and bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 180°C until the top is golden and a knife pierces the pasta sheets with no resistance.
This coming week marks thirteen years of me living in London (I’m so sorry Mum), and after a month of near constant travelling, I’m so thrilled to be back. London in the summer is spectacular, so I’m busy filling up my diary with things for the coming months, including…
A brief dabble of working for a diamond brand about ten years ago has me extremely excited for the Cartier exhibition at the V&A, followed by lunch at The Lavery, where I can’t wait to return to for their pomelo and passionfruit mess in the most gorgeous dining room.
Keeping my eye on my local wine bar, Ken’s, for their guest chefs because sitting outside working through their wine list with an endless array of food is nothing short of perfection.
The summer months are bookended by my boyfriend and I’s birthdays, with our anniversary right in the middle, and my new favourite cards are these beauties from Wish Cards. They’re so sweet and ideal if you’re out and in need of a candle to wish upon.
A meal for a Sunday night when you’re overwhelmed about the week ahead.
Starter
Chuck a few things into a food processor and make a dip like this Cannellini Bean Dip to snack on that will serve you for many snacks in the days to come.
Main
Roast a chicken and have it throughout different meals in the week ahead. I love this Soy Sauce Roast Chicken that could then become this Warm Chicken Salad.
Dessert
Step away from your phone and laptop, and any potential stress triggers, and focus on making something special for dessert. Ravneet Gill’s tinned mango crème brûlée is nothing short of magic.
