Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes

lemon trees in pots. As an essential of the Italian garden, lemons are so valued that most old houses have a
limonaia,
a glass-walled room for storing the pots over the winter. Our
limonaia
functions as a storage room for mowers and tools but this winter reclaimed its function with the two pots taking a sunny spot. In spring we dragged them out in front of the house again, to a place near the kitchen door—very handy for grabbing one for this extremely easy and tasty pasta. When I make this in California, I often add a half pound of crab, but it's a marvelous pasta by itself. With a green salad, it's the lightest dinner imaginable, perfect the day after a crippling feast.
    â€” 
Boil pasta—spaghetti or
tagliatelle
—for six. Squeeze enough lemons for 1/2 cup of juice. Drain pasta, season, and toss with 1/2 cup of chopped Italian parsley, the lemon juice, and grated
parmigiano
to taste. If you like, sauté a pound of crabmeat in 2 T. of butter or olive oil. Add a big splash of white wine. Bring to a boil for an instant, stir the lemon juice mixture into the crab and toss with the pasta.
    Sea Bass in a Salt Crust
    Don't expect a salty fish—the crust seals in the juices but only slightly penetrates. In San Francisco, I go to a fish market on Clement Street for sea bass. They net the fish from a tank, then knock it in the head with a mallet. Not my favorite moment of shopping. Here, we are two hours from both the Mediterranean and the Adriatic. Fishmongers come to the Thursday market in Camucia where the fish are safely dead and on ice.
    â€” 
Ask the fishmonger to clean and prepare for cooking a large sea bass, about 31/2 to 4 pounds. Dry the fish well and stuff the inside with slices of lemon, wands of rosemary, and a few sprigs of thyme. Mix the juice of two lemons with 6 T. olive oil and brush the fish all over. Season with pepper and thyme. To the remaining oil and lemon, add some chopped thyme and parsley and reserve this for serving later. For the crust, you'll need about 5 pounds of coarse salt, depending on the size of the fish. Layer the bottom of a baking dish (one that can go to the table as well) with an inch of salt. Place the fish on top then mound the rest of the salt over the fish, completely covering it. Pat in place around the fish. Make a mask of 3/4 c. flour and enough water to thin the flour. Brush the salt with this mixture. Bake in a preheated, hot oven, 400 degrees, for 40 minutes, or until the salt looks toasted. Present the fish at the table, cracking or sawing into the hard crust, then take it back to the kitchen and remove the fish to a platter for serving. Heat and pour the reserved lemon and oil over the fish. Serves six generously.
    Zucchini with Mint
    â€” 
Thinly slice or grate eight slender zucchini. If you grate, squeeze out the liquid. Quickly sauté in hot olive oil with some minced garlic. Stir in chopped parsley and mint, season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
    Lemon Pie with Roasted Almonds
    I'll never forget the lemon pie of Erice. The crunch of almonds added a wonderful complement to the familiar, luscious textures of lemon meringue pie—the flaky pastry, airy meringue, and the creamy lemon custard. The almonds of Sicily have a perfume and a complex aftertaste. Because fresh nuts make all the difference, at home I order pecans from the South every fall and store the bags in the freezer. I can taste a change in the texture after a couple of months, but still, the nuts keep much better in the freezer. In San Francisco, we have access to fresh walnuts and almonds from California groves through the Saturday farmers' market. Here's my grandmother's lemon pie, enhanced with the Sicilian touch of almonds—and further enhanced when served with the fragrant Moscato of the islands off Sicily. Actually, it's my grandmother's sister Besta's recipe. Besta was otherwise known for her fuming blackberry cordials, which my father