Gennaro's Passione: The classic Italian cookery book Hardcover – January 1, 2017

This chef is very entertaining in person and I have tried about 75 percent of his recipes in this book. All Winners.

I enjoy cooking and I enjoy this particular chef.I got this book for Christmas but it did not appeal to me. I prefer cook books where each recipe has a photo of the dish. In this book it's just a picture here and there. Lots of recipes do not show a photo.I was also hoping for more recipes for soup but only found a handful in this book.Overall this book was not for me.

In 2011, my family and I spent three glorious weeks exploring the coastline, landscapes and cuisine of Northern Italy in the Piedmont, Liguria (including the fabled Cinque Terre), the honeyed sunsets of Tuscany, and magical Venice. From tasting Chianti in its hometown to slow food in Siena and browsing the market stalls of Florence, my trip left an indelible impression on me after years of only reading about Italy, and the cuisine was a world away from “Italian” cuisine I’d experienced living in the United States, Canada, Spain and Japan.When I was offered the chance to review Gennaro Contaldo’s “Passione,” I snapped it up. I previously reviewed Gennaro “Italian Bakery”; a fixture in Jamie Oliver’s restaurants and Jamie’s mentor, his down-to-earth recipes capture the pleasures of life in the Italian countryside and are straightforward and unfussy – no complicated lists of hard-to-source ingredients, only pantry staples and seasonal produce (including fresh fava beans, basil, jewel-like strawberries and sun-ripened tomatoes).Featuring photographs from Gennaro’s childhood on the Amalfi coast,, readers are also taken on a journey around Italy, with more than 100 recipes and formative stories of foraging for mushrooms, free-diving for oysters, and skipping school to go fishing llustrating his “free range” childhood that later influenced his cooking style (his restaurant Passione in Charlotte Street, London, was awarded Best Italian restaurant in 2005 and he more recently hosted his own TV series, Two Greedy Italians on PBS).The included recipes in “Passione” are much lighter than what I normally think of as “Italian food,” my perception no doubt colored by Italian-American restaurants. The dishes are simple, fresh, and balanced, perfect for dining al fresco. You’ll find favorites like bruschetta, arancini, genuine Neopolitan pizza, focaccia with garlic and rosemary, and risottos alongside tagliatelle with fresh tuna, lemon and arugula, grilled lamb chops filled with prosciutto and herbs, orange and fennel salad, and a Neopolitan Easter wheat and ricotta tart.The iconic flavors of southern Italy will transport you to a land of sunshine and lemons, seafood still glistening with droplets of salt water and tomatoes still warm from the sun. As a vegetarian, I loved unusual mains like eggplant slices with a Parmesan and polenta crust, stuffed artichokes and zucchini, various handmade gnocchis, carpaccio of smoke mozzarella cheese, stuffed fava bean cakes, and fresh, light vegetable salads and grilled vegetables. Desserts include semifreddo, lemon tart, and chocolate and red wine cake.Overall, this is a wonderful addition to your cookbook library that is perfect for any occasion – the short, accessible ingredient lists and straightforward preparations are doable by any level of home cook, and Gennaro offers a wealth of ways to incorporate a wealth of seasonal produce.

could have used better paper, photos do not really pop.

It doesn’t show good Italian or more authentic recipes. And the letter for titles are not clear or easy to read. Looks more a book for children.

Filled with loads of lovely recipes, great for a cooking lover who is needing more ideas!

Given as a gift - recipient very happy with the book.

I like the way that he puts the recipes in the context of his own family's life in Italy. I ordered this book because, four months and about 150 meals into lockdown, I'd run out of culinary inspiration and was desperate for something different. We've done four or five recipes so far and everything has been amazing, with top marks from husband and kids. The halibut with caper and dill sauce yesterday was particularly good!A couple of comments though: this is quite labour-intensive cooking. I am sure that Gennaro and his mate Jamie Oliver would think I'm mad for saying this, but not all of us have the skills that they do (and I've been a reasonably keen cook for 25 years) - we can't all go in the way they do on TV, knives flying and professional-quality ovens blazing (and someone else to clear up afterwards). These recipes tend to involve quite a lot of preparation, and require close attention while they are cooking. Plus a lot of pans, chopping boards and other implements to wash up. But while we're working from home I don't mind spending extra time on dinner, it's quite relaxing, and the results are worth it. My second observation is that you'll go through a LOT of olive oil! Most books might tell you to start by sweating an onion in 1 tbsp of oil - with Gennaro, it's going to be 4 or 6 tbsp, and there will probably be more oil somewhere else in the recipe as well.But we are really enjoying this book - it's really given us the culinary shake-up we were looking for. And I wish we could go to Italy right now....

This book has some great recipes, however I didn’t like that he didn’t tell you how much salt and pepper to use in the dishes. It’s very important because it’ll make or break the dish. And for an amateur cook like me it’s information I need.

Gennaro's books are excellent, the recipes are good and problem free to follow however occasionally he leaves a small part of the procedure out as he probably feels you should know that already, this is my third book by him (Slow Cooking and Italian Bakery are the others) and I would recommend them to everyone who enjoys cooking.