Shannon Bennett

The Melbourne chef turns ‘peasant’ food into a right royal feast.

CUCINA POVERA MAY NOT be an Italian term that you’re familiar with, but it’s one that you will grow to cherish. Translating as ‘poor people’s food’,

cucina povera sums up everything that is great about cooking: beautiful ingredients prepared with love and care, but always with an emphasis on simplicity.

Whether it’s a warming vegetable soup or fireroasted wild mushrooms,

cucina povera is about making the most of seasonal produce – whatever is plentiful at a particular time of year, and whatever is in your fridge or store cupboard.

The spirit of this cooking technique lies in embracing constraints and coming up with creative solutions for meal preparation. So rather than going out and buying a pantry’s worth of produce, make the most of what you already have.

It may go against what our culture traditionally conditions us to do, which is to buy more and spend more, but it’s a refreshing (and tasty) philosophy to adopt in the kitchen.