Loved by cooks from Nigella Lawson to Heston Blumenthal, this is THE classic of Italian cooking.

'If this were the only cookbook you owned, neither you nor those you cooked for would ever get bored.’ – Nigella Lawson

Marcella Hazan is widely regarded as one of the greatest Italian cookery writers in the world and The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is her masterpiece. Aimed at cooks of every level, be they beginners or accomplished chefs, it is an accessible and comprehensive guide to authentic Italian cuisine and should find a place in the kitchen library of anyone who is passionate about good food.

Featuring hundreds of recipes ranging from soups, pastas and risottos, to delicious meat and vegetable dishes, The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is an indispensable addition to any kitchen.

'Truly indispensable' – Nigel Slater

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Recommended by

Michele Cranston

Food stylist and magazine food editor

In an era when Italian food can be purchased in any supermarket aisle tinned, frozen or dried, this hefty book, filled with so much information, reminds us of what real Italian cooking is all about. Simple delicate sauces, perfectly cooked pasta, richly flavoured vegetables and a chapter on traditional baking that leaves you reminiscing about noisy Italian cafe's and bars lined with little glasses of Grappa and strong espresso's.

Debora Robertson

Food writer and editor

I reach for this book all of the time. Clear, authoritative recipes, written in Hazan's sometimes slightly bristling style - she can make Elizabeth David seem positively cuddly - but I make her simple tomato sauce (tomatoes, onion, butter and salt) and bolognaise all of the time, and cook pasta with 4 litres of water and 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt per 450g of pasta as per her very strict instructions.

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