Simple Italian cooking tips for any home, courtesy of British chef Theo Randall
My Simple Italian shares useful tips on what to stock in your kitchen cabinets plus recipes for delicious dishes that are categorised according to cooking time
I am always a bit wary of chefs who release cookbooks about “simple” food – their idea of simplicity does not always tally with mine. Theo Randall’s My Simple Italian (2015), however, is one book that home cooks can actually cook from, without the need for specialised equipment and ingredients.
But, of course, for the British chef behind two eponymous Italian restaurants – at the InterContinental in London and the InterContinental Grand Stanford, in Hong Kong – having a pantry ready stocked with Italian ingredients does make life easier.
As Randall writes in the introduction, “With simple dishes, the quality of ingredients you use is very very important, and it helps if you have a storecupboard that is well-stocked with jars and cans of things like olives, fish, capers and tomatoes, as well as packets of polenta, risotto rice, pasta and dried porcini.
“Combining these with fresh vegetables, meat, cheese and so on, you can put together a tasty dish with ease.”
“Be on the lookout for ingredients when you travel, too. I always say that if you are in Italy and you see olive oil, dried porcini mushrooms, parmesan cheese or balsamic vinegar, buy some because it will invariably be good quality and cheaper than at home – and it will add a bit more inspiration to your cooking.”