Vegetables by Antonio Carluccio

Carluccio is a sympathetic Italian old man who has lived in England for a long time. When I was on holiday in England this summer I saw him on the TV program Cash in the (celebrity) attic disposing of some unused culinary utensils, along with his Italian culinary friend who also lives in England, Gennaro Contaldo. I had to laugh at them, it's a simpaticone, that Carluccio.

One of many

Antonio Carluccio has several renowned cookbooks to his name, including the cookbook pasta, which I wrote a review about last year, eating one of his pasta recipes every day for five days. I also tried the pumpkin ravioli, a recipe that I also came across in this new book of his that is now in the shops: Vegetables. I can recommend those pumpkin ravioli to everyone, but the book promises that there are 120 brand new recipes and that is not entirely true.

How green is Vegetables?

The title of the book mainly refers to the classification: green vegetables, root vegetables, fruit vegetables, legumes and grains, herbs, spices and nuts and finally: mushrooms and truffles. A nice layout, but it doesn't seem like a real cookbook for vegetarians or vegetable lovers. Sometimes it is more the seasonings than the vegetables themselves that give the dish character.

In addition, Carluccio has a preference for salted capers and anchovies. They are therefore not all particularly green. the classic pastiera (the grain pie with ricotta), risotto with cuttlefish, veal cutlet with butter and sage, risotto alla milanese with veal shank… Delicious, but there are no vegetables in it. It is funny and innovative that it contains a dish with soybeans in the leading role: not a vegetable that I easily associate with Italy.

Nice and fast tasty

It also contains nice dips, dressings and mayonnaises: something that is often omitted in cookbooks but that is easy for a quick dish with cooked or raw vegetables. That is what the chef likes to present. Bagna Cauda, hollandaise sauce and other dips are reviewed.

wild picking

The book advertises a lot for wild picking: mushrooms, wild garlic, sorrel and dandelion, for example, but for that you will really have to live outside the Randstad in the Netherlands. I once had a girl next door who went to pick dandelions in the dog-poo field opposite the flat in my problem neighborhood in Utrecht. As a base for her salad. Wild picking seems like a nice hobby, but I don't think it's too amateurish.

Buono però

Well, then I complained about the 'greenness' of the book, the wild picking that requires me to move and recipes that he has published before. Are there any tasty recipes in it? Of course! Can I freely call out about what has stuck in my head? The calzone with endive and capers: good, the stuffed savoy, too good.

Dishes with lamb but also dishes with pork and veal: tastes differ. The recipe you have on is also very tasty ItalyExpanded.nl can find the stuffed artichokes (see photo above).

It is not a thin book and the amount of classic dishes is also large (caponata, polenta, pesto genovese). Yet there are enough new recipes in it to tempt you again. Unfamiliar dishes that invite you into the kitchen. Jam from green tomatoes. Deer medallions with morels, chickpea gnocchi. You don't have to be bored. And that is where the master shows himself.

Final assessment

With the knowledge that Carluccio has, this book with 120 recipes certainly has a right to exist. Yet I still have the impression that Carluccio has put together this cookbook about vegetables at a rapid pace. And for the vegetarian or vegan people who like to eat Italian: perhaps it is better the cookbook Cucina verde – vegetarian enjoyment all'italiana to be purchased from Miki Duerinck and Kristin Leybaert.

Vegetables
by: Antonio Carluccio, illustrations: Katie Horwich
288 pages
€ 27,95
Aerial Media Company, July 2017
ISBN 9789402602128