Gennaro's Cucina: A cookbook of classic Italian recipes that help to budget during a cost-of-living crisis

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In this inspirational cookbook, Gennaro takes you on a culinary journey of regional basic Italian staples and turns them into beautiful meals. With t ips and ideas of what to do with leftovers, Gennaro helps home cooks squeeze maximum use from the 'cucina povera' ethos, turning humble ingredients into nourishing feasts without taste sacrifice. Cucina povera is the food the poor of Italy used to cook, dictated by the limited number of ingredients available to them – either what they grew or what little they could afford to buy. Grain-based foods such as pasta, bread, polenta and gnocchi were staples of peasant cooking, with rice, beans and pulses providing much-needed protein. Fruit and vegetables, probably gathered in the wild, would be added to dishes to provide necessary nutrients. The 74-year-old says he throws nothing away. And not only for environmental reasons. In a cost of living crisis, throwing any food away is literally money in the bin. Knowing what you can do with leftovers is the key to cutting your food bill, Contaldo believes. Join one of the UK’s most-loved chefs Gennaro Contaldo to celebrate the publication of his new book, Gennaro’s Cucina.

Delicious, hearty Italian meals using accessible and affordable ingredients, by one of the world’s most beloved Italian chefs. b. For the avoidance of doubt, the winner is solely responsible for all additional costs and expenses associated with the prize not expressly stated herein as included. No compensation will be payable by the Promoter if the winner is unable to use their prize as stated. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the remaining two garlic cloves and sweat for a minute. Add the greens and stir-fry over a medium-to-high heat for 2–3 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Cucina povera’ is a simple philosophy – turn delicious affordable ingredients into hearty nourishing feasts. In this inspirational cookbook, Gennaro takes you on a culinary journey of regional basic Italian staples and turns them into beautiful meals. With tips and ideas of what to do with leftovers, Gennaro helps home cooks turn humble ingredients into nourishing feasts without taste sacrifice. Classic Italian cooking, at its very heart, is cost-effective. The basis of many of the most famous dishes is known as “cucina povera” literally translating to “poor kitchen” or “poor cooking”. The chef says: “There was not much, so whatever you had you cooked in many different ways and nothing used to be thrown away.”

Gennaro has worked in some of London’s most popular restaurants, such as the late Antonio Carluccio’s ‘Neal Street Restaurant’. In 1999 he opened his own restaurant ‘Passione’ in Charlotte Street, London, which was awarded Best Italian restaurant in 2005. In this inspirational cookbook, Gennaro takes you on a culinary journey of regional basic Italian staples and turns them into beautiful meals. With tips and ideas of what to do with leftovers, Gennaro helps home cooks squeeze maximum use from the 'cucina povera' ethos, turning humble ingredients into nourishing feasts without taste sacrifice.

Cucina povera is the basis from which all our favourite Italian dishes come from. It’s the sort of cooking Gennaro was brought up on and still cooks today. It originated mainly from rural areas, where meals were created using the limited number of ingredients available – either what people grew or what little they could afford to buy. In doing so, they learnt to value what they had and to lovingly cook dishes to ensure they tasted better, using all their imagination to make dishes go as far as they could. In an era of excessive convenience and disposable food waste, Gennaro's Cucina could not come at a better time—you will learn how to use simple ingredients in inventive ways, eat seasonally, spend less, and ultimately eat better. Contaldo is also known for his association with Jamie Oliver, whom he first met at Neal Street Restaurant in the 1990s. The two chefs have since maintained a close friendship and professional relationship. Oliver even once put up a reward for information when Contaldo's restaurant, Passione, was burgled in 2003. [5] Contaldo has appeared on many of Oliver's television shows, such as The Naked Chef. He made a comic appearance as one of Oliver's sous-chefs on Food Network's Iron Chef America, in a battle against famed Italian-American chef Mario Batali. Contaldo also developed menus for Oliver's UK restaurant chain Jamie's Italian, in which he is a business partner.Along with the majority of post-war Italian families, a young Gennaro was raised on a diet harvested on a limited budget. Restricted choice of scarce ingredients meant they learned the value what they had, how to cook dishes lovingly, and use imaginative methods of preservation to make simple dishes go far: including salting, drying and curing.