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.

First of all, I need to impart, but am not sure I can adequately put into words, just how freakin’ gorgeous this book is. As somebody who is generally aesthetically-led, I like my instructional manuals with a little eye candy on the side. Having said that, I can appreciate many different styles of cookbook, from spare and encyclopedic to colourful and over-the-top, if done well. Jamie at Home, however, is hands-down my current favourite, combining superb photos, charming illustrations and gorgeous typography. The photos alone are enough to sell it to me- not limited to the dishes themselves, there are also pictures of Jamie’s own garden in Essex, animals frolicking in the British countryside, and wild mushrooms sheltering in idyllic woodland. Printed on quality matte paper, and with as much attention to detail as to abundance, it’s 400 pages of pure gastronomic joy. 

First impressions aside, the content of this book is also something to behold. Divided into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, each part is further broken down into mini-chapters on seasonal produce. Asparagus for Spring, Beans for Summer, Game for Autumn, and so on. Because Jamie at Home is not simply a recipe book but a kitchen-garden manual of sorts, each mini-chapter contains a lot of information, in addition to the recipes. Everything from nutritional facts to an in-depth “How I Grow…” section, which gives instructions and tips on planting and harvesting the veg in question. Not very helpful to me, with my precisely zero square feet of outside space, but I can see how this would be immensely useful to someone who had the space and inclination to grow their own food. 

Now to the good stuff: the recipes. Almost everything in this book looks incredible, making it difficult to decide what to try first. The recipes are mainly British with a strong Italian slant, but Spanish, French and other flavours are also employed here. Obviously, there is a strong emphasis on local, seasonal ingredients, so the recipes that I’ve tried so far are mainly from the Autumn and Winter chapters. Among them, there have been some real winners- Butternut Squash Muffins with a Frosty Top (pg. 364) were so good I blogged about them on Kitchenist, English Onion Soup with Sage and Cheddar (pg. 146) was silky and flavourful, and Pappardelle with Slow-Braised Leeks and Crispy Porcini Pangattato (pg. 333) has become a real staple in my house. In the spirit of eating seasonally, I am waiting until warmer weather brings the ingredients I need to make some of the other dishes I’ve been eyeing, including Incredible Smashed Peas and Fava Beans on Toast (pg. 156) and Warm Strawberries with Pimm’s and Vanilla Ice Cream (pg. 201)

Of course with the good often comes the bad, and there is no exception here. Some recipes I tried fell short of my expectations; the enticing Italian Bread and Cabbage Soup with Sage Butter (pg. 388) delivered a slimy, salty disappointment, and my boyfriend announced that Jamie’s recipe for Calzone (pg. 180) tasted like “farm”, and not in a good way. (I had no idea what he was talking about at first, but as I ate on, I had to agree, and the calzone was left unfinished. Perhaps I’m just incredibly impressionable?)

It’s also all a bit “meaty” for my liking. Besides that actual meat, poultry and game recipes, Jamie always seems to be adding meat to things that would otherwise make lovely vegetarian dishes. A few slices of proscuitto here, some chopped pancetta there, some anchovy fillets in this sauce- the man just can’t help himself. While I really don’t have a problem with this in theory (I simply leave out the offending ingredient), I find it strange that a book which presents itself as being all about vegetables contains so few truly vegetarian recipes. Of course, if you aren’t vegetarian, this won’t matter at all to you- more meaty bang for your buck, right? 

In all likelihood, however, I won’t be letting a few failed recipes turn me off. Now that I’ve dived in, Jamie’s beautiful books and down-to-earth writing style have made an impression on me, and I’m looking forward to reviewing more of his books in the future.

As for Jamie at Home, I’ll be working my way through it as the seasons change, hoping for more hits than misses. The gardening sections will certainly be helpful if there is a backyard somewhere in my future, meaning that for now at least, this book is a keeper.