Simple, beautiful, achievable food

CELEBRATING the ‘‘utter joy’’ of Italian food is celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s aim in his latest cookbook, Jamie Cooks Italy.

‘‘This is about getting right to the heart of the Italian kitchen.’’

Italy is a country where everyone is incredibly passionate about food; it is at the heart of all they do.

‘‘No matter how rich or poor, most Italians eat very well indeed — simple, beautiful, achievable food is standard.’’

Adopting the Italian attitude — an obsession with seasonal

ingredients, a frugal approach to shopping, straightforward commonsense and a little of the ‘‘magic stuff love’’ — will

serve you well on the path to cooking some of the ‘‘most spectacular meals to enjoy with family and friends’’.

Short profiles and beautiful photos of the Italians who have inspired Oliver are included throughout the book.

The recipes are a mix of fast and slow cooking, familiar classics and new things Oliver has learnt. There are simple everyday dishes alongside indulgent, labour of love options for weekends.

The book is divided into chapters such as antipasti, salads, soups, pasta, meat, bread and pastry and dessert.

It also has a handy basics section for things such as polenta, aioli, pasta dough and how to prepare artichokes.