The hotel had started so simply in its early days, still clinging to its old convent life perhaps, but as the world changed and tourism came to Italy, so visitors had discovered the beautiful Cinque Terre, many of them wanting to come back for more. And The Lemon Tree Hotel had opened its doors and embraced them, just as it did to this day.
Italy is on my bucket list of places to visit, for several reasons, most of them food-related. But for now, I’ll just have to visit through books and recipes.
This week’s theme was Northern Italy, and I made trofie al pesto, inspired by The Lemon Tree Hotel by Rosanna Ley.
The book
The Lemon Tree Hotel has so much packed into it, it could have been three books instead of one. A mystery over a stolen painting and an illegitimate child during WWII, a tragic mudslide, a hotel in jeopardy, a crumbling marriage and three different love stories, all set in the beautiful Cinque Terre region of Italy. It was a little too much plot, in my opinion. But I loved the author’s descriptions of northern Italy, the culture, landscape and the people. The sense of place is strong, so northern Italy almost becomes another character in the novel. It made me want to visit, hike the hills of the Cinque Terre and taste all the delicious pastries, breads, pasta and wine.
The food
One of the prominent characters, Elene, is a chef at the hotel; tons of food is mentioned in the chapters from her points of view.
I chose a pasta dish mentioned early in the novel that’s common to the Ligurian region in northern Italy: trofie al pesto with potatoes and green beans.
Trofie is a short, thin, twisted pasta from Liguria. You can make your own, but Trader Joe’s also sells it.
Boil the pasta and chopped potatoes together; add the green beans about halfway through cooking. While the pasta and vegetables are cooking, make the pesto sauce: basil, parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and salt to taste.
Once the pasta, potatoes and green beans are tender, drain. Save a little of the pasta water to thin out the pesto. Then mix and serve with more cheese.
The verdict? I loved this pasta, particularly pesto recipe; it was so easy to make and the balance of flavors is just right. Since the sauce comes together in a food processor, it could easily fit into our weeknight meal rotation. We had some broiled shrimp and salad on the side to make it a full meal.
Next week: Sticky