{"id":3930,"date":"2012-11-23T15:20:45","date_gmt":"2012-11-23T15:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp\/?p=3930"},"modified":"2026-02-14T16:58:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T16:58:04","slug":"lets-cook-italian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/lets-cook-italian\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Cook Italian by Gennaro Contaldo – review"},"content":{"rendered":"

We want comforting food. It\u2019s cold and wintery and the economic climate isn\u2019t that hot either. It\u2019s time to get back to those old-fashioned values. Gennaro Contaldo introduces us to his Italian family favourites in Let\u2019s Cook Italian.\u00a0 They do travel rather well, and they are delicious.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"cookbook Gennaro often graces our TV screens, sometimes in the company of Antonio Carluccio, another Greedy Italian, or that young Jamie Oliver. Gennaro is a lovable character with a cheeky grin and a down-to-earth approach to food. Yes, he is a celebrated food professional but he has never lost his grasp of domestic kitchen reality.<\/p>\n

To be a confident cook we need a battery of recipes that work. We need to feed family, friends and in-laws so a list of well practised flavourful dishes that please everybody will save time and worry. Impressive food doesn\u2019t have to be expensive or even time-consuming.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Cook Italian offers practical recipes for traditional dishes and a sprinkling of contemporary ones. There are, as one would expect, plenty of suggestions for pasta – dough, sauce and fillings – and some of those traditional to Gennaro\u2019s family will likely be new to the British cook. Culurzones \u2013 Sardinian ravioli filled with cheese, potato and fresh mint – is one such recipe that uses a rich mix of cheeses pillowed by the humble and, as yet, cheap, spud. The sauce is buttery and perfumed with sage but I would love this ravioli with a herby tomato sauce.<\/p>\n

A vibrant dish for the summer is Peperoni All\u2019adrodolce \u2013 Tangy Peppers. Make these when peppers are at their best quality and price. You can use them at every meal and either hot or cold. The recipe calls for anchovies: don\u2019t be tempted to leave them out. Your finished peppers won\u2019t taste fishy, but those fillets give a distinct salty edge which is key to the success of the dish.<\/p>\n

A spectacular and traditional dish is Porchetta \u2013 Stuffed and Rolled Pork Belly. It\u2019s a striking centrepiece to feed a crowd. The most difficult step is finding a large enough roasting pan, but I can guarantee that you will feel it\u2019s worth the investment in a new one. Gennaro has suggestions for side dishes with recipes provided.<\/p>\n

Perhaps my pick of the book will be a surprise. It\u2019s a pie, Sformato di Pane alle Verdure, and Italians are not famed for that form of savoury patisserie. Gennaro presents a variation of a family favourite that was eaten around Christmas time. It would be a vegetarian alternative for the festive season but even meat eaters would enjoy this robust bread-dough pie with its filling of artichokes, courgettes, onions and potatoes.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Cook Italian is just what I would expect from Gennaro Contaldo. It\u2019s charming and family oriented. The recipes have been thoughtfully chosen and should give no British cook cause for anxiety over technique or ingredient. A beautiful book and good value for money.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Cook Italian
\nAuthor: Gennaro Contaldo
\nPublished by: Anova Books
\nPrice: \u00a320.00
\nISBN 978-1-86205-953-5<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cookbook review by Chrissie Walker \u00a9 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We want comforting food. It\u2019s cold and wintery and the economic climate isn\u2019t that hot either. It\u2019s time to get back to those old-fashioned values. Gennaro Contaldo introduces us to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,22],"tags":[955,162,1417,93,1416],"class_list":["post-3930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-cookbooks","tag-antonio-carluccio","tag-celebrity-chefs","tag-gennaro-contaldo","tag-italian","tag-lets-cook-italian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3930"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10567,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3930\/revisions\/10567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}