Passione: The Italian cookbook
By its very title, Passione implies this is a book from the heart. Its author, Gennaro Contaldo (chef-proprietor of restaurant Passione in London's Charlotte Street), bases the book on his native Italian cuisine - specifically the southern Italian region and a tiny village called Minori on the beautiful Amalfi coast.
Contaldo, a major culinary influence on Jamie Oliver (and who's featured in The Naked Chef and Jamie's Kitchen), has gone back to the origins of his own and his region's cuisines, making the book as natural as possible, in many instances using equipment from his mother's kitchen - which is now in the safe hands of his sister. Many of the dishes featured show the china that his family used when he was a child, and the use of natural Italian sunlight in the photography shows the food in all its glory.
Each chapter takes an item of produce essential to Italian cuisine and illustrates it with straightforward recipes. For me, this is the essence of Italian cuisine - taking a beautiful, natural, full-flavoured product and tampering with it very little. Other ingredients are there to enhance the dish, rather than eclipse it, such as in his recipe for branzino con salsa alla rucola (sea bass with rocket), where Contaldo serves sea bass with a pesto-like sauce made with rocket instead of basil.
What I particularly enjoyed about the book is that at the beginning of each chapter Contaldo talks about a specific ingredient and how it featured in his childhood. He gives a great description of his mother bringing a piglet back from the market slung over her shoulder in a canvas sack. She would rear the piglet with as much love and attention as her own children, until it was time for the slaughter. It may sound harsh but, as Contaldo explains, his mother "never let herself forget that the pig was food for her family".
Having read the recipes and the childhood anecdotes, you get not only an understanding of the impact of food on Contaldo's childhood but also an impression of what food means to most Italians: it's a passion.
Passione is a book for both the professional and domestic cook. The recipes are set out in an easy-to-follow format with brief advice at the beginning of each one, and chapters range from fish and meat to tomatoes and mushrooms, finishing with snacks and desserts. Even if you aren't a cook, Passione is worth reading for the childhood reflections alone. It makes me want to jump on a flight to southern Italy straight away, to sit by the sea and eat some stuffed baby peppers or a plate of linguine with fresh crab.
Angela Hartnett, chef-patron, the Connaught, London
Passione: The Italian Cookbook
Gennaro Contaldo
Headline, £25
ISBN 0-7553-1118-3
