Chef Dara Klein, known for her London-based Pasta Princess and Tiella restaurant, shares three classic Italian recipes that bring trattoria flavors home: a fresh pesto trapanese, a deeply savory pomodoro sauce, and a rich torta caprese. Each dish highlights simple, high-quality ingredients and traditional techniques.
Pesto Trapanese: A Fresher Take on a Classic
Pesto trapanese combines almonds, tomatoes, pecorino, garlic, and basil for a fresher version than the typical Genovese variety. Klein prefers making it in a mortar for a rustic texture, but a gentle blender works too. The dish serves four and takes 10 minutes prep plus 30 minutes cook time.
Ingredients include 85g blanched almonds, 250g finely diced tomatoes, 75ml extra-virgin olive oil, one garlic clove, 10g basil, 45g pecorino, and 320-400g pasta (busiate, penne, spaghetti, bucatini, or fusilli). Roast almonds at 180C (160C fan) for 13 minutes with salt. Blitz almonds, tomatoes, oil, garlic, and salt until almost smooth. Add basil and pecorino, pulse to combine. Cook pasta one minute less than package instructions, loosen pesto with pasta water over low heat, then toss pasta in sauce until glossy. Finish with lemon juice, extra basil, olive oil, and pecorino.
Sugo di Pomodoro: Deep Umami in One Hour
Klein's pomodoro sauce achieves a long-cooked depth in just one hour using a caramelization technique. The recipe serves four with 5 minutes prep and at least one hour cook time. Ingredients: 120ml extra-virgin olive oil, three fresh bay leaves, two thinly sliced onions, sea salt, 80ml white wine, 700g passata, and 400g pasta (orecchiette, penne, spaghetti, or rigatoni).
Cook onions in oil with bay leaves and salt until translucent. Add wine and cook until evaporated. Add passata, simmer 10 minutes without stirring to form a deep red-brown crust at the pan bottom. Scrape crust into sauce, then simmer 30-45 minutes, stirring every five minutes. Cook pasta al dente, reserve water, toss with sauce, adding pasta water to emulsify. Serve with olive oil and cheese or pangrattato.
Torta Caprese: Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake
This gluten-free cake uses ground almonds for a rich yet light texture. Developed with pastry chef Maximiliane Krauss-Waller at Tiella, it serves eight with 10 minutes prep and 1 hour 10 minutes cook time, plus chilling. Ingredients: 170g hazelnuts (preferably skinless), 170g unsalted butter, 170g 70% cocoa dark chocolate, 170g light brown sugar, sea salt, four eggs separated, and 1.5 tbsp marsala, amaretto, or rum (optional).
Toast hazelnuts at 180C for 11 minutes, then blitz to a sandy texture. Melt butter and chocolate over simmering water. Stir in nuts, sugar, salt, then egg yolks and alcohol. Whip egg whites to soft peaks, fold into batter in three additions. Bake in a greased 20cm springform tin for 40 minutes. Cool, then chill overnight. Serve warm with whipped cream and Amarena cherries or fresh berries. According to Klein, using good-quality chocolate is essential for the best flavor.
