This recipe is taken from Liguria: Recipes & Wanderings Along the Italian Riviera by Apartamento.

Of all the famous love affairs in the actress Elizabeth Taylor’s life, her infatuation with Portofino was one of the most enduring. It’s the town where she celebrated four of her honeymoons and where Richard Burton first proposed to her on the wisteriacovered balcony of Suite 471 at Splendido in 1964 during a break from filming Cleopatra. While her taste in jewellery was famously opulent, when it came to food, she liked to keep things simple. Rumour has it that she loved spaghetti with tomato sauce, and so Splendido’s executive chef, Corrado Corti, created the hotel’s most famous dish in her honour. Made with three different types of tomato combined with a few special techniques and touches, this twist on the classic spaghetti pomodoro is ultimately an unfussy plate of pasta that somehow feels as special as the exceptional star it was named after.

Spaghetti alla Elizabeth Taylor

Ingredients

250g fresh datterini tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
3–4 sprigs of fresh thyme, finely chopped
½ tsp of soft brown sugar
¼ tsp of lemon zest
½ tsp of sea salt
400g tin of peeled San Marzano tomatoes 
500g dried spaghetti
200g fresh cherry tomatoes 50ml Ligurian olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
A few leaves of fresh basil, roughly torn
1 pinch of dried oregano

Serves 4

Method

Three hours in advance

1. Preheat oven to 80°C.
2. Place the datterini tomatoes cut side up in a large baking tray and cover with the chopped thyme, brown sugar, lemon zest, and sea salt.
3. Roast in the oven for 3 hours until soft and caramelised on the outside.

Final steps

1. Drain the San Marzano tomatoes and keep the liquid in a separate bowl. Slice into strips.
2. Cook the spaghetti in salted water as per packet instructions until al-dente.
3. As the pasta is boiling, sauté the cherry tomatoes with olive oil and garlic in a large pan and cook until tender.
4. Add the sliced San Marzano tomatoes along with their juice to the pan and simmer on medium-high heat for 5 minutes until reduced. Add salt, pepper, or a pinch of sugar as needed.

Liguria: Recipes & Wanderings Along the Italian Riviera is published by Apartamento, and is out now.