Anna says: “Pasta al limone. I can’t think of a plate of food that shines a light on lemon flavour in quite the same way. Pasta, lemon and Parmesan come together in alchemy to create something worthy of any table.

I tested out a lot of pasta al limone recipes before I landed here. Some had cream, some had finely chopped lemon but none came close to the creaminess of this one and none was as easy. The one-pan method (where you cook the pasta and sauce in one pan) was made for pasta al limone. The starchy water it creates is exactly what is needed to thicken the lemony sauce and coat the pasta. I like to keep this pretty simple. I have suggested some basil as an option at the end, but these simple lemony noodles are enough on their own. If you like, you could add some greens or even stir though some warmed cannellini beans.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 400g spaghetti or linguine 
• 2 large unwaxed lemons
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and bashed but kept whole
• 100ml olive oil
• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 50g salted butter or vegan butter 
• 40g Parmesan or vegan Parmesan-style cheese (I use a vegetarian one), grated
• ½ a bunch of basil (15g), leaves picked and torn (optional)

Method

Fill the pasta pan:

Put spaghetti or linguine into a large lidded saucepan. Grate in the zest of 2 large unwaxed lemons and add 1 clove of garlic, peeled and bashed but kept whole, 100ml olive oil and 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt.

Add water and cook:

Add 1 litre boiling water, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils, remove the lid and simmer for 8 minutes, using a pair of tongs to turn the pasta in the thickening pasta water every 30 seconds or so as it cooks.

Add the lemon juice:

Once the pasta has had 8 minutes, squeeze in the juice of one of the zested lemons and simmer for a final 2 minutes with the lid off.

Finish the pasta:

Once almost all the water has evaporated, take the pan off the heat, stir in the butter and grated Parmesan and leave to sit for a minute or two so the pasta can absorb most of the remaining water and form a lemony sauce. Taste and add more salt, lemon juice and butter or olive oil as needed. Tangle into 4 bowls and finish with the rest of the Parmesan and ½ a bunch of torn basil leaves, if you like.

Anna says: “This is my ideal cake. Lemony, soft-crumbed and streusel-topped. The idea for this recipe comes from baker Thalia Ho, who has a cake in her book Wild Sweetness that ripples lemon curd through it. This cake is loaded with three types of lemon: lemon zest studded through the cake batter, the curd on top and a hit in the streusel topping.”

Makes a 23cm cake, serves 12 

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour, plus 80g for the streusel topping
• 20g porridge oats
• 250g golden caster sugar, plus an additional 2 tablespoons 
• zest of 2 unwaxed lemons 
• 200g unsalted butter at room temperature, plus 70g cold unsalted butter and a little extra for the tin
• 80g ground almonds
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 3 large organic or free-range eggs 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 250g natural yoghurt or oat yoghurt
• 1oog good-quality lemon curd, plus extra to serve
• crème fraîche, to serve

Method

Make the streusel topping:

Put 80g plain flour, 20g porridge oats, 2 tablespoons caster sugar and a pinch of sea salt into a bowl and mix well. Add the zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, then add 70g of cold, unsalted butter. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour like a crumble mixture until large sticky clumps have formed. This is your streusel.

Preheat the oven and line your tin:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a 23cm cake tin with butter, then line with baking paper.

Mix the dry ingredients:

Put 250g plain flour, 80g ground almonds, 1½ teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl with ½ teaspoon sea salt and mix with a whisk until there are no lumps.

Cream the butter and sugar:

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in another mixing bowl with an electric hand whisk or wooden spoon, cream 200g unsalted butter and 250g golden caster sugar until pale and fluffy. This will cake about 3-4 minutes in a stand mixer and longer by hand.

Add the eggs:

Scrape down the bowl and add 3 large organic or free-range eggs one at a time, mixing on a low speed until each one is incorporated, then mix in 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, the zest of another unwaxed lemon, and 250g natural yoghurt or oat yoghurt.

Add the dry ingredients:

Add the dry ingredients to the batter in the mixing bowl and mix until just combined. This is a very forgiving cake, but minimal mixing will make it as light as possible.

Put the batter into the cake tin and add the lemon curd:

Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and level it gently with a spatula, then spoon over 100g good-quality lemon curd in little patches and use your spoon to swirl it in a little. Scatter the streusel topping evenly to the very edges of the cake; don’t pile it into the middle or it will sink.

Bake the cake:

Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cover the top of the cake with foil if it looks like it’s browning too fast. Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then remove from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Serve with some crème fraîche rippled with a little lemon curd.

Anna says: “Dal is a staple of our weeknight cooking. It’s the dinner I never get bored of. I have a few favourites I make on rotation: coconut, lemon and now this traybaked tomato one. This dal is made in the oven, so it’s very hands-off. The tinned tomatoes are roasted first to give a deeper hit of tomato flavour. Serve this with a pot of rice, some parathas, salted yoghurt and chutney.”

Serves 4 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds 
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes 
• 2 tablespoons ghee or other cooking oil
• 2 unwaxed lemons
• a thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
• 8 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 green chillies, sliced
• 2 teaspoons golden caster sugar 
• 50ml white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• a bunch of coriander (30g), chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, or cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon Kashmiri chilli powder (or ½ teaspoon if using other chilli powders)
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
• 300g split red lentils
• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk 
• 800ml hot vegetable stock 
• 250g paneer or firm tofu 
• warm rice, parathas or roti, yoghurt and chutney to serve

Method

Crush the tomatoes:

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.

Add 1 tablespoon coriander seeds and 2 teaspoons cumin seeds to a high-sided baking tray and roast in the oven for 2-4 minutes until fragrant, then remove and tip into a pestle and mortar and crush before returning to the tray. Drain 2 x 400g tins of tomatoes and add to the tray.

Use a potato masher or the back of a large spoon/fork to crush the tomatoes to release their juice and flatten them a little, and spread them evenly over the tray.

Add the flavourings and roast:

Add 2 tablespoons ghee or oil, then grate in the zest of 1 unwaxed lemon and 1 thumb of ginger and add 8 thinly sliced cloves of garlic. Toss the tomatoes in the spices and roast for 30 minutes until sticky and intensified in flavour.

Make the quick pickle:

Put 2 sliced green chillies, 2 teaspoons golden caster sugar, 50ml white wine vinegar and a teaspoon of salt into a small bowl and mix well. Add the zest of a second unwaxed lemon. Stir through a bunch of chopped coriander, stems and all. Put in the fridge to keep cool.

Add the spices and lentils:

Once the tomatoes have had their time, remove them from the oven and stir in 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, a cinnamon stick, 1 table­spoon Kashmiri chilli powder and 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds. Add 300g split red lentils and pour over a 400ml tin of coconut milk and 800ml hot vegetable stock. Cover tightly with foil and return to the oven for another 40 minutes.

Add the paneer:

After 40 minutes, carefully take the tray out of the oven and remove the foil. Stir the dal, then season well with sea salt. Tear 250g paneer or firm tofu over the top of the dal and squeeze over the juice of the 2 zested lemons. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the edges of the paneer are beginning to turn golden, the dal is creamy and the lentils are soft.

Serve with rice, parathas, yoghurt and chutney and the pickled chilli and coriander mixture. This will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days.