I worry sometimes that I’m becoming a bit of a Jamie Oliver fanatic. I buy his books, read his magazine, watch his TV shows and even follow him on Twitter. Believe me, I didn’t plan any of this (I’ve always been more of a Nigella girl, myself), but it seems to have happened just the same. 

Not only am I apparently obsessed with Jamie, but I’m obsessed with Italian food. It’s a cliché, I know, but what a delicious one. I should have been born Italian- I’m convinced that it was only a cruel twist of fate that made me Canadian instead.

Understandably then, this book has been on my to-buy list for quite a while. I pick it up whenever I’m in a bookstore, love taking a sneak peek at the recipes and photos inside, but somehow never manage to actually purchase it. I recently got around to joining my local library, though (after living here for over two years- I know, pathetic) and can you guess what the very first book I borrowed was? Of course you can. 

Like the more recently published Jamie at Home,  Jamie’s Italy is a visual feast. The lovely matte paper hosts gorgeous food and travel photography, which celebrates the food of Italy in a way which appears personal and real, not contrived. This isn’t standing around sipping prosecco in a picture-perfect seaside town, this is grandmothers making pasta, street-food vendors, a rustic picnic and hunters proudly displaying their (somewhat gruesome) catch. 

Divided into seven chapters, the book covers both the topics you’d expect (antipasti, pasta, meat dishes, desserts) and those you might not (street food and side dishes). With the exception of the meat chapter, nearly everything here looks wonderful to me. Not that the meat dishes don’t look delicious- in fact, I can’t look at Sausages and Green Lentils with Tomato Salsa (pg. 221) for too long, for fear of breaking my vegetarian resolve.

So far I’ve made several things from the book, with an impressive success rate. Pasta with Chickpeas (pg. 76) was tasty and nourishing, while a strawberry version of Jamie’s Blackberry Tart (pg. 287) was one of my favourite desserts of the year. The only recipe I’ve tried that went even remotely awry was Artichoke Risotto (pg. 136), but I’m pretty sure that was due to the artichokes I used, rather than Jamie’s recipe. Anyway, I managed to save the dish, and it too was delicious in the end. I’m by no means done with the book, either. Florentine Rice Tart (pg. 284) definitely has a place in my future, and I’m considering making Spaghetti alla Trapanese (pg. 121) for dinner tonight.

Now comes the point in a review where I’m supposed to write something negative. Hmm. See, it’s not as though there’s nothing that could be improved on here- there could be a few more pizza recipes, a more in-depth look at making handmade pasta, or a couple more recipes for Italian gelato, but all that would just be icing on the cake. In a way, the only thing that could improve Jamie’s Italy would be if there was more of it. So Jamie, if you’re reading this, perhaps a sequel?

In conclusion, then: I love Jamie’s Italy. I love how it looks, how it reads, and I love the recipes. I should clearly throw my pride to the wind and become a card-carrying member of the Jamie Oliver Fan Club. I see library late fines in my future.