A Year in an Italian Kitchen

Wild Figs and Fennel

The author of Bitter Honey charts a year in her Sardinian kitchen: boiled eggs with grated bottarga in spring, zucchini and white peach salad in the summer, chicken braised with grapes and fennel in the fall, pavlova with mandarin curd and fresh bay leaves in winter. The recipes aren’t strictly Sardinian—Clark finds treasures wherever she eats.

Letitia Clark is a food writer, illustrator and chef. After completing the Leiths diploma in Food and Wine she went on to work in some of London’s top restaurants, including Spring, Morito and The Dock Kitchen, She now lives in Sardinia, where she continues to write, as well as continuing her work as an illustrator.

Italian–Inspired Desserts

La Vita è Dolce

La Vita &egrave; Dolce is an exciting take on Italian baking by food writer and trained pastry chef, Letitia Clark.Featuring over 80 Italian desserts, La Vita &egrave; Dolce showcases Letitia&#39;s favourite puddings inspired by her time living in Sardinia.Whether you&rsquo;re looking for something fruity, nutty, creamy, chocolatey or boozy, you will be seduced by the sweet aromas of every bake.Complete with anecdotes and beautiful location photography throughout, each recipe is authentic in taste but with a delicious, contemporary twist. From a joyful Caramelised Citrus Tart to a classic Torta Caprese, this is a stunning celebration of the sweet things in life, and is guaranteed to bring a slice of Italy into your home.

A beautiful book with a perfect balance: warm, engaging and playful, evoking the purest essence of Italian desserts whilst also bringing exciting new ideas and flavours to the table.

La Vita &egrave; Dolce is a peach of a book, which makes you feel that life is sweet, at least when you have a gelato in your hand. Letitia Clark, whose first book Bitter Honey, celebrated the food of Sardinia, has an extraordinary feeling both for the food of Italy and for sweet foods, from biscotti to panna cotta, from fruit tarts to green lemon posset. The recipes and photographs have a sunny kind of magic to them. Reading it put me in an instantly better mood.

The Italians know their sweet stuff and Clark has extracted all the goodness for us.

Recipes and Stories from the Island of Sardinia

Bitter Honey

Guild of Food Writer’s Awards, Highly Commended in ‘First Book’ category (2021) 
 
In Bitter Honey, seasoned chef Letitia Clark invites us into her home on one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean Sea – Sardinia. 
 
The recipes in this book do not take long to make, but you can taste the ethos behind every one of them – one which invites you to slow down, and nourish yourself with fresh food, friends and family. 
 
The importance of eating well is even more pronounced here on this forgotten island. Try your hand at Roasted Aubergines with Honey, Mint, Garlic and Salted honey, or a Salad of Pecorino with Walnuts and Honey, followed by Malloreddus (the shell-shaped pasta from the region) with Sausage and Tomato. 
 
Each recipe and the story behind it will transport you to the glittering, turquoise waters and laid-back lifestyle of this Italian paradise. With beautiful design, photography, full colour illustrations and joyful anecdotes throughout, Bitter Honey is a holiday, a cookbook and a window onto a covetable lifestyle in the sun – all rolled into one. 
 
Praise for Bitter Honey: 
 
"Reading Letitia Clark’s Bitter Honey: Recipes and Stories from the Island of Sardinia feels like being on the loveliest holiday... a beautiful book, infused with the spirit of place, and love for good, simple food." - Nigella Lawson 
 
"Just lovely. Fans of the Italian South will love particularly." - Marina O’Loughlin 
 
"One of the most exciting cookbooks of this year. The writing, photo, design and most importantly the recipes are all outstanding. One that you will read cover to cover and also cook from." - Olia Hercules 
 
"Like a blast of Sardinian sunshine on a drab British lockdown evening. Full of artichokes, pasta and joy." - Bee Wilson 
 
"One of the best cookbooks of the year" - The Times

Reading Letitia Clark&rsquo;s Bitter Honey: Recipes and Stories from the Island of Sardinia feels like being on the loveliest holiday... a beautiful book, infused with the spirit of place, and love for good, simple food.

A celebration of the more meditative side of kitchen life, taking inspiration from her [Letitia&rsquo;s] move to Sardinia and the unique rhythms of island life.

Just lovely. Fans of the Italian South will love particularly.

Intertwines traditional Sardinian recipes with stories from the island, giving a beautiful insight into how Sardinians cook, eat and live.

One of the most exciting cookbooks of this year. The writing, photo, design and most importantly the recipes are all outstanding. One that you will read cover to cover and also cook from.

Like a blast of Sardinian sunshine on a drab British lockdown evening. Full of artichokes, pasta and joy.

Letitia Clark

Her beautiful books are an unfailing delight… I am an out-and-out lemon-obsessive; I’m not sure I could even cook if I ran out of lemons, and if that ever did happen, I’d certainly need to be treated for shock! Frankly, if you have even one tenth of my enthusiasm, you need this book.

Italian-inspired, Sweet and Savoury Recipes

"For the Love of Lemons is a joy to read and cook from." - Stanley Tucci 
 
"This is a book to keep by your bedside to remind you of the zest of life on dull days or in your kitchen for year-round lemony inspiration." - Bee Wilson 
 
Sweet, sour, sharp and bitter, lemons provide colour, zest and joy on even the darkest of days. 
 
From crisp summer salads to deliciously do-able pasta dishes and indulgent sweet delights, For the Love of Lemons celebrates the versatility of this much-loved citrus fruit. Seamlessly weaving history, anecdote and stories, as well as ways to use lemons outside the kitchen, bestselling author Letitia Clark dives into the enchanting world of lemons with a vibrant collection of Italian-inspired recipes that includes dishes such as Lemony Burrata with Spring Vegetables and Pistachio Pesto, Creamy Lemon and Mascarpone Carbonara, Chicken with Lemon, Saffron and Artichokes and Lemon Tiramisu. 
 
Complete with beautiful location photography throughout, it showcases the unrivalled ability of lemons to bring freshness and zing to your cooking. 
 
Praise for Letitia’s Previous Books: 
 
Reading Letitia Clark’s Bitter Honey: Recipes and Stories from the Island of Sardinia feels like being on the loveliest holiday... a beautiful book, infused with the spirit of place, and love for good, simple food. - Nigella Lawson 
 
Just lovely. Fans of the Italian South will love particularly. - Marina O’Loughlin 
 
Wild Figs & Fennel. This would be at home in the Romance section of the bookshop if it wasn’t so well written. Letitia Clark proves an expert guide to Sardinia, detailing the local dishes, customers, and ingredients… - Niki Segnit 
 
One of the most exciting cookbooks of this year. The writing, photo, design and most importantly the recipes are all outstanding. One that you will read cover to cover and also cook from. - Olia Hercules

Letitia Clark

Praise for For the Love of Lemons

Her beautiful books are an unfailing delight… I am an out-and-out lemon-obsessive; I’m not sure I could even cook if I ran out of lemons, and if that ever did happen, I’d certainly need to be treated for shock! Fran ...

Books by Letitia Clark

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter