Gennaro: Slow Cook Italian

"Beautiful, classic recipes made with passion, by the man who taught me everything I know about Italian cooking." Jamie Oliver

Gennaro shows you how to prepare good Italian food with minimum effort by letting the oven or hob do the work. Slow cooking draws out flavours and softens the texture of food to create delicious, impressive, often inexpensive meals with little fuss.

There are casseroles and one-pots that slowly simmer to perfection, roasts that tenderize in the oven, soups that quietly bubble away on the hob, puddings such as meringues and fruit compotes, and breads that bake to light perfection.

Gennaro is a traditional, rural Italian cook. He uses lots of inexpensive cuts of meat, as well as beans and pulses, which all benefit from slow cooking, so there is plenty for the thrifty home cook to choose from. This is classic Italian food, such as Roast leg of lamb with baby onions, Rich Tyrolean beef goulash, Lasagne and Meringue with zabaglione cream and custard, that takes the hard work out of preparing supper.

Gennaro Contaldo's warmth, Italian spirit and sense of fun have led him to be one of the UK's most-loved chefs. He is renowned for being a mentor to Jamie Oliver and teaching him, with Carluccio, everything Jamie knows about Italian cooking. In 1999, he opened Passione in London, which was awarded Best Italian restaurant in 2005. He is a favourite on Saturday Kitchen, has his own YouTube food channel, and is an ambassador for Citalia, Parmigiano Reggiano and Birra Moretti. This is his seventh book with Pavilion, which include Pasta Perfecto and Fast Cook Italian. He lives in east London with his wife and twin daughters. @gennarocontaldo