Skye McApline has created the most gorgeous Italian cookbook! I especially love the title: A Table for Friends. What I found unique about the cookbook was the layout. She begins the book with her star courses. I’d not seen this before, but I loved it! These are her you-can’t-go-wrong with recipes. I also love how in the back she divides the book by the amount of people you are cooking for as well as by season. I have to admit, I don’t normally read the text of cookbooks beyond the recipes but with this cookbook, I found myself immersed in her writing.

In honor of the release of this lovely book as well as the lifting of the lockdown ban in the UK this past summer - I set to cook an Italian feast. And I invited dear friends to celebrate with us. On the menu for the night where the following recipes from Skye’s cookbook:

• Batched Negroni (pg 270)

• Spaghetti with Creamy Lemon Sauce (pg 60) Recipe below

• Aphrodite’s Roast Chicken (pg 90) with Roasted Grapes (pg 168) & Red Onions (pg 166)

• Chicory Salad with Creamy Mustard Dressing (pg 110) I added Burrata & Raspberries

• Watermelon, Feta, & Pistachio Carpaccio (pg 120)

• Buttery Carrots with Honey (pg 142)

• Summer Berry Cloud Cake (pg 240)

I’ve included a few images from the feast. Scroll a little further and you’ll find the recipe for her wonderfully delicious and simply Creamy Lemon Spaghetti.

Spaghetti with creamy lemon sauce

A Spaghetti al limone recipe from Skye McAlpine's cookbook 'A Table For Friends'

Ingredients

• 2 lemons

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 220ml single cream

• 1 egg yolk

• 350g spaghetti

• A small bunch of thyme Fine sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper 

Method

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Meanwhile, finely zest both the lemons and toss the zest into a deep frying pan, then add the olive oil and set it over a medium heat. Gently fry the zest for a few minutes until it begins to take on a deep, vibrant yellow colour.

Now pour in the cream and the egg yolk, mix well with a wooden spoon, then reduce the heat and leave to gently cook for 5–10 minutes, giving it a stir every now and then. 

Add a generous pinch of salt to the boiling water, and, when it begins to gallop, add the spaghetti and cook until al dente according to the packet instructions. Finely slice one-third of a lemon. 

When the pasta is cooked, drain in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water (roughly 1⁄4 cup). Squeeze the juice of the remaining lemons into the sauce, add salt and pepper to taste, then toss the pasta into the frying pan. Add the reserved cooking water, throw in the lemon slices and toss everything together so the pasta is well covered with sauce.Tear up the thyme sprigs, sprinkle generously over and serve immediately.

We finished with an amazing cake inspired by sky’s summer cake.

All photographs by Kyle Campbell. The above pasta recipe from A Table For Friends by Skye McAlpine (Bloomsbury Publishing). Buy a copy here.