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Some dishes arrive at the table with a history already attached. Spaghetti alla Elizabeth Taylor is one of them: a plate of pasta tied to a place, a person and a moment in Italian hospitality. The dish traces its origins high above the Ligurian coast at the Belmond Hotel Splendido in Portofino, a former monastery turned panoramic refuge that’s attracted Hollywood stars for decades. As a frequent guest throughout the 1960s, Elizabeth Taylor returned to the hotel often, finding a constant between film shoots, marriages and honeymoons.
Years later, Corrado Corti, the executive chef at La Terrazza, the hotel’s signature restaurant, began piecing that history together. As he consulted longtime staff whose memories stretched back to Taylor’s visits, one detail consistently emerged. “Others confided in me that when Elizabeth Taylor stayed here, she particularly loved spaghetti with tomato sauce,” Corti tells Parade.
That revelation started Corti on a culinary mission: to take the most humble of Italian staples and make it worthy of the woman who requested it. “I felt the need to include a tomato pasta dish on the menu, but one that wasn’t trivial,” he explains.
Using that as his guide, Corti crafted Spaghetti alla Elizabeth Taylor. It’s not a simple marinara, but rather a layered expression of care: three kinds of tomatoes, treated in three distinct ways, combined into a single plate that continues to anchor La Terrazza’s menu. Though it now costs forty euros, its true value has always been affection, familiarity and the quiet luxury of being known.
To get a taste of la dolce vita at home, I tried the recipe in my kitchen. Read on to find out how it went and how you can make the dish at your house, too.
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What Is Spaghetti alla Elizabeth Taylor?
Courtesy Theresa Greco
Spaghetti alla Elizabeth Taylor may resemble a classic pomodoro at first glance, but in practice, it’s a study in what Corti calls “complex simplicity.”
“I love to highlight the soul of the dish without distracting the palate,” he explains. That clarity emerges from three expressions of local tomatoes, layered for both contrast and continuity to give a familiar flavor a quiet sophistication.
Technique is only part of the appeal of this dish; the legacy provides the rest. Taylor was a huge fan of Portofino, the location of four of her honeymoons. It’s also reportedly where Richard Burton first proposed to the Hollywood icon on the balcony of Splendido Suite 471 in 1964, when she was on a break from filming Cleopatra. It’s fun to think of her enjoying a simple pasta dish like this one in the midst of her romantic bliss.
Courtesy Theresa Greco
Having spent a good deal of time along the Ligurian coast myself, I’ve seen how often a famous name or a glamorous view can outshine the actual meal. As I made the dish in my kitchen, I couldn’t help but wonder whether it could truly stand on its own.
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Ingredients Needed
Courtesy Theresa Greco
In a recipe with so few components, there’s nowhere for a mediocre ingredient to hide. If you start with a tomato that has no soul or an olive oil that’s flat, you’ve already lost half the battle. “The choice of ingredients certainly makes up 50% of the recipe itself,” shares Corti.
You can get the full recipe on the hotel’s website, but here are the ingredients you need to put it together: datterini tomatoes (or grape tomatoes), fresh thyme, brown sugar, lemon zest, sea salt, canned San Marzano tomatoes, spaghetti, fresh cherry tomatoes, Ligurian olive oil, garlic, fresh basil and dried oregano.
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How To Make This Spaghetti
To bring this dish to life, start by preheating your oven to 200°F. Because fresh datterini are hard to find, I swapped them for grape tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes in half and arrange them, cut sides up, on a large baking tray. Sprinkle them with chopped thyme, brown sugar, lemon zest and sea salt.
Courtesy Theresa Greco
Let them roast for three hours until they are soft and deeply caramelized. While the tomatoes roast, turn your attention to the San Marzano tomatoes. Drain them, reserving the liquid, and slice the tomatoes into thin strips.
Courtesy Theresa Greco
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until it’s al dente. In a large pan, begin the sauté phase, but instead of the cherry tomatoes the recipe suggests, use canned datterini if you can find them (more on my tomato swaps in the tip section below). Sautéing them quickly with olive oil and garlic protects their delicate texture while letting their premium sweetness pop.
Courtesy Theresa Greco
Once the tomatoes are tender, stir in the sliced San Marzano tomatoes and their reserved juice, simmering on medium-high for about five minutes until the sauce is beautifully reduced.
Courtesy Theresa Greco
After adjusting the seasoning with salt, pepper, or a pinch of sugar, toss the al dente spaghetti directly into the pan with a splash of pasta water to ensure every strand is coated.
Courtesy Theresa Greco
Finally, fold in those chewy, caramelized roasted tomatoes along with fresh basil and oregano, tossing everything together before serving.
Courtesy Theresa Greco
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Spaghetti alla Elizabeth Taylor: My Honest Thoughts
Courtesy Theresa Greco
I honestly loved everything about this dish. At first glance, it looks like just another bowl of pomodoro, but it is so much more than that. It honestly feels like the Italy I have fallen in love with: authentic, totally unpretentious and all about the quality of the harvest.
What really blew me away were the three different layers of tomatoes. Preparing each variety in its own way added a level of texture and brightness that takes a simple pasta and makes it something special. Tracking down the specific tomatoes takes a bit more work, but I’m telling you, the payoff is worth it.
This recipe is a great reminder that making something this ambitious isn’t just about putting in the time. You have to really stay on top of all the moving parts and understand how the flavors layer together. It took a bit of work, but the results are incredible. I will definitely be making this again. It’s the kind of meal that reminds me of Elizabeth Taylor: simple, timeless and completely fabulous.
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Tips for Making This Dish
When I first glanced at the recipe, I hit an immediate roadblock: it called for fresh datterini tomatoes. These “little dates” are prized in Italy for their incredible sweetness and thin skins, but finding them fresh in the States is a tall order. I scanned my pantry and found a premium alternative, a can of Giadzy yellow datterini, but that discovery led straight into my next challenge: the cook time.
The original recipe called for roasting the datterini for three hours and using cherry tomatoes for a quick, final sauté. I knew instinctively that putting high-quality canned datterini in a low oven for that long would be a disaster. Their delicate structure would never survive the heat; they would simply disintegrate into a sugary puddle rather than remaining a distinct, vibrant ingredient.
So I decided to make a swap.
The roaster: I swapped the fresh datterini for fresh grape tomatoes, which are easily available in most grocery stores. Their thicker skins and lower moisture content make them built for endurance. After three hours in the oven, they didn’t just survive; they transformed into chewy, caramelized gems of concentrated flavor.
The finisher: I reserved the Giadzy datterini for the final sauté, adding them at the very end to protect their silky texture. This allows their natural sweetness to act as a bright, fresh counterpoint to the deep, roasted notes of the grape tomatoes. Note: If you don’t have a can of datterini on hand, fresh store-bought cherry tomatoes will provide a similar texture and pop of brightness.
The constant: For the base of the sauce, I used exactly what the recipe called for, a can of San Marzano tomatoes, which are available in most grocery stores these days. Their reliable acidity and meaty texture provided the perfect canvas for the rest of my adjustments.
By flipping the order and types of tomatoes used, I played to the strengths of each tomato. The grape tomatoes provided the deep, roasted intensity, while the datterini stayed intact, offering a silky texture and a bright, sun-drenched finish that would have been lost in the oven. The result was a masterclass in textural layering. By slightly breaking the rules of the recipe, I ended up with a dish that respected the quality of the ingredients and suited my Italian-American kitchen perfectly.
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Source:
Courtesy Tyson Sadlo
Chef Corrado Corti, executive chef at La Terrazza, the signature restaurant at the Belmond Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Italy.
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Food & Drink section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Dining and Cooking