From courgette carbonara to coconut cream cake – 8 Italian-inspired lemon recipes

Daily Mail​

31-05-2025

LEMON PANNA COTTA WITH STRAWBERRIES
The simplest of puddings, and still one of the best. This is my classic ratio, but infused with a little lemon zest. I use the barest minimum of gelatine to make for the very softest wobble. Use dainty ramekins or espresso cups as moulds.
400ml double cream
100ml milk
50g sugar
3 strips lemon zest
1 vanilla pod, split
2 leaves gelatine (3-4g)
To serve
500g strawberries, hulled
zest and juice of ½ lemon
1-2 tbsp sugar
a few lemon blossoms (if you can find them) or other edible flowers
1 Warm half the cream in a saucepan with the milk, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla pod over a low-medium heat and bring to scalding point.
2 Soak the gelatine in a small bowl of cold water and leave to soften completely – this should take around a minute.
3 Squeeze out the softened gelatine and add to the hot cream mixture, stirring well to dissolve.
4 Add the remaining cream to the mixture and strain it, removing the zest and vanilla pod – this can be saved to use in another recipe.
5 Decant into your preferred moulds and leave in the refrigerator to set for at least 4 hours. Ideally, remove from the refrigerator around 15 minutes before serving to take the chill off.
6 Meanwhile, halve the strawberries and marinate in the lemon zest, juice and sugar. Top the panna cottas with the strawberries and flowers and serve.
LEMON & COURGETTE CARBONARA
This courgette carbonara is lifted by a hefty hit of lemon (both zest and juice) that cuts through the richness of the eggs beautifully. It is also essential to counteract the sweetness of the braised courgettes, which are almost jammy after their slow sautéing in plentiful olive oil and garlic. I use pecorino sardo, which has a lemony flavour and nutty sweetness that work perfectly here. If you can't find it, use parmesan or a mix of pecorino romano and parmesan.
SERVES 2
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
1 garlic clove, bashed
2 medium or 3 small courgettes, sliced in half lengthways, then cut into half-moons
sea salt
180g pasta of your choice
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
4 tbsp pecorino sardo (or parmesan), grated, plus more to serve
zest of 1 small lemon and juice of ½ small lemon
basil leaves, to serve
1 Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat, then fry the garlic clove until it begins to sizzle and smell good. Add the courgette slices and sauté, stirring regularly, until they are golden all over, beginning to break down and almost jammy. Season well with salt and set aside (or leave to cool, then keep in the refrigerator for future use).
2 Cook the pasta in a large pan of well-salted boiling water until al dente, according to the packet instructions.
3 Meanwhile, mix the egg and egg yolks, cheese and lemon zest and juice into the courgette mixture, and heat very gently, stirring all the time. Scoop the pasta with a slotted spoon and add into the courgette pan along with a splash or two of the cooking water. Stir and toss over a low heat until you have a creamy sauce that coats the pasta. Taste for seasoning, add a few fresh basil leaves, extra parmesan and a drizzle of the extra virgin olive oil, then serve.
BURRATA WITH LEMONY SPRING VEGETABLES & PISTACHIO PESTO
Burrata is the sort of cheese you can make a meal from, which makes it extremely useful as well as utterly delicious. Allow half a burrata per person as a starter or a whole one per person as a main with some other salads. This dish is one of my favourite ways to celebrate the abundance of spring vegetables. I chop the pesto by hand because I like it chunky, but if you want to use a food processor by all means do.
SERVES 2
large handful of fresh peas, podded
a few spears of asparagus (optional), chopped into short lengths
large handful of fresh young broad beans (or blanched and skinned if later in the season)
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
large handful of rocket
large handful of herbs, roughly chopped (I use mint, basil and parsley, but tarragon, dill, chervil and wild fennel would all work well)
1-2 balls of burrata
For the pesto
60g shelled pistachios
½ garlic clove, very finely chopped
sea salt
handful of mint leaves
handful of basil leaves
20g parmesan or pecorino, finely grated
zest and juice of ½ lemon
50ml olive oil
1 Arrange all the fresh vegetables on a platter and scatter with the lemon zest. Squeeze over the juice, season with salt and drizzle a good amount of the oil.
2 Mix gently, then scatter over the rocket leaves and fresh herbs.
3 Put the burrata in the middle of the dish, drizzle with more oil and sprinkle with salt.
4 To make the pesto, roughly chop the pistachios with the garlic, salt to taste and herbs to form a rough paste on your chopping board, then scrape into a bowl and add the grated cheese and lemon zest. Drizzle in the olive oil and squeeze in the lemon juice until it becomes a dolloping consistency. Taste for seasoning and add more lemon or salt as required. Dollop the pesto over the burrata and salad and serve.
CHICKEN BRAISED WITH ARTICHOKES, SAFFRON & LEMON
A dish with Moroccan Jewish origins, this is a combination of three of my favourite ingredients: chicken, artichokes and lemon. The original recipe also contained cinnamon, but I prefer it without. The saffron provides a subtle, almost sweet and honey-fragrant undernote that works well to counterbalance the sharpness of the lemon. Serve with good bread, olive oil-roasted potatoes or a bitter-leaf salad. Or all three.
SERVES 4
4 chicken thighs or legs
sea salt
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
240ml dry white wine (I use vernaccia but dry sherry would also be good)
120ml chicken stock or water
1 white onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
good pinch of saffron threads
large handful of parsley, roughly chopped
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
6-8 artichoke hearts
1 Season the chicken pieces with salt. Warm half the oil in a heavy-based sauté pan or casserole dish and brown the chicken pieces (skin-side down first). Without crowding the pan, aim to get a good light brown colour all over, then remove the pieces and set aside.
2 Deglaze the pan with a little of the wine or stock, scrape up all the good brown bits and save this liquid for later. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and place back over a low heat.
3 Warm the remaining oil in the same pan. Sauté the onion, garlic and saffron for 10-15 minutes until totally soft and translucent. Add half the chopped parsley and continue to cook for a few minutes. Add the lemon wedges and the artichokes and sauté for a minute or two longer, then add the chicken pieces back in, skin-side up, with the wine, reserved juices and chicken stock or water.
4 Cover partially and cook for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is tender (the juices should run clear when the thickest part is pierced with a sharp knife) and the sauce is nicely reduced. Taste and check for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary. Serve with the remaining chopped parsley on top.
PRESERVED LEMON & HERB YOGURT DRESSING
When I worked at the lovely restaurant Spring in London we made a version of this – mostly to go with sea bass, although I have since made many variants for just about anything. It is the palest green, herb-flecked and, with the preserved and fresh lemons, wonderfully zingy – perfect with barbecued food, grilled veg, as a salad dressing or for dunking bread into. It will keep in the fridge for a few days – but for the freshest flavour eat it the day it is made.
½ garlic clove
1 tbsp preserved lemons, mostly rind pieces
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
150g thick plain yogurt
1 tsp runny honey
handful of mint leaves
handful of dill or wild fennel fronds
a handful of parsley leaves
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
1 Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until the herbs are just pale green flecks and you have a runny, creamy sauce. I particularly like this with roasted red vegetables or grilled peppers.
LEMON & COCONUT CREAM CAKE
There is something extremely chic about this cake, like a very fine cream alpaca cardigan. The coconut cream makes the crumb extra moist and delicately sweet, and the fragrant zest cuts through everything nicely. I like it as a summer breakfast, or for a celebratory tea.
SERVES 8-10
225g unsalted butter, softened
200g sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
zest of 2 lemons
3 tsp baking powder
250g plain or 00 flour
200ml coconut cream
For the icing
40g coconut flakes
170g mascarpone
100ml coconut cream
50g icing sugar
a few drops of vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
1 Preheat the oven to 180/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm cake tin.
2 Beat the butter with the sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the salt, lemon zest and baking powder. Finally, beat in the flour and the coconut cream until you have a smooth batter.
3 Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.
4 Lightly toast the coconut flakes in a small frying pan over the lowest heat (keep an eye on them – they burn very quickly) until just golden around the edges. Set aside.
5 Whip the mascarpone, coconut cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract together and use it to ice the cake. Top with the reserved toasted coconut flakes and lemon zest.
LEMON POSSETS IN LEMON BOATS
When you are lucky enough to have beautiful, leafy lemons, there is no nicer thing than halving them, scooping out the flesh (to squeeze) and filling them with lemon posset. The flavour of the rind perfumes the posset and provides a perfect picturesque vessel. You will need to scoop out four whole lemons, to create the 'boats' this is served in, but you only use the juice of two, so the pulp from the others can be used in another recipe.
SERVES 8
400ml double cream
90g sugar
90ml lemon juice (I use 2 large lemons)
8 hollowed-out lemon halves, to serve
1 Combine the cream and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a low boil. Stir gently (the cream will expand a lot) and continue to cook for a minute or two, making sure the sugar has dissolved.
2 Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
3 Add the lemon juice to the cream mixture, then decant into your lemon boats. (Note: the boats need to be on a flat surface so the liquid doesn't spill.) Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
LEMON BARS WITH POLENTA PASTRY & OLIVE OIL CURD
The lemon bar is a teatime classic. Crumbly, buttery, creamy and tart, the sunshine-yellow squares are popular with both children and adults, and constitute an essential part of my Sardinian mother-in-law's grandly named, and even more grandly hosted, 'English teas'. I have added polenta to the pastry to Italianise them a bit. The curd itself is spiked with a little olive oil to make it extra glossy and provide the slightest peppery back note.
MAKES 8-10
For the base
100g plain or 00 flour
60g polenta
120g butter
a good pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon
80g sugar
For the curd
2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks
juice of 4 lemons
280g sugar
10g cornflour
a pinch of salt
60ml extra virgin olive oil
70g butter
icing sugar, to decorate
1 Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3. Line a 25cm x 25cm brownie pan with baking parchment.
2 Blitz all the ingredients for the base in a food processor until you have a fine, damp sand. Press into the base of the tin using the back of a spoon to form a flat, even layer.
3 Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until golden all over and smelling biscuity. Meanwhile, make the curd. Measure all the ingredients except the oil and butter directly into a saucepan, whisking until smooth. Cook over a medium heat, whisking continuously, until thick. The mixture should come to the boil and then begin to thicken after a few minutes.
4 Remove from the heat and strain into a bowl. Whisk in the oil and the butter until smooth.
5 Pour the curd over the cooked base and then return to the oven and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, until just set.
6 Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then slice into squares, dust with icing sugar and serve.
NOW BUY THE BOOK
Our recipes are from For The Love Of Lemons by Letitia Clark, with photographs by Charlotte Bland (Quadrille, £28). To order a copy for £23.80 until 15 June, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over £25.