Smashing pumpkins

Antonio Carluccio sings the praises of vegetables to Dan Stock

He might be famous for a rich beef ragout, for which tourists and locals alike flock to one of the almost 100 restaurants that bear his name across the UK, but for Antonio Carluccio, vegetables are playing an increasingly important role in cooking – both in homes and in restaurants around the world.

“I consider vegetables the Cinderella of the food world,” the cook, author, restaurateur and television presenter says.

“That’s why I wanted to give them a bit of love.”

That love comes in the form of his latest cookbook – his 25th – called, simply, Vegetables.

In it, Antonio revisits a topic dear to his heart (and stomach), having written a first book dedicated to veg 15 years ago, long before they gained their current culinary cool.

“I wanted to make the book more complete, and add the modern aspect to vegetables,” he says.

“There’s a whole fashionable element that comes into eating vegetables now, but for me, food is never fashionable like this.”

Instead, the food that the “Godfather of Italian cuisine” still champions is that of cucina povera, the food of his youth.

And while every chef and every menu proudly proclaims they now “cook with the seasons”, it’s the seasonal aspect of Italian cuisine that has informed Antonio’s cuisine for more than four decades.

“Excellent produce, in season, doing the best you can with it. It’s my maxim – minimal of fuss, maximal of flavour,” the 79-year-old says.

“I see even the big star chefs. They like to play around with food. But at the end they come back to original good produce, you can’t get better.”

Antonio is such an ambassador for Italian cuisine the world over he was awarded the Commendatore for services to gastronomy by Italy’s president (the equivalent of a knighthood) and has an OBE after his name.

No stranger to Australia (he was here just last year filming his show Six Seasons, about indigenous culture and cuisine) he’ll be in town again next month to cook the World’s Longest Lunch for the 25th Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, held along Lygon St in Melbourne’s spiritual home of Italy, Carlton. Vegetables will, of course, play a starring role on the menu. And for your menu at home, here are Antonio’s favourite 10 veg – and how he’s loving cooking them right now.

CAVOLO NERO

Italians are the original hipsters – well, when it comes to kale, that is. Cavolo nero (black cabbage) was developed in the ’60s in Tuscany and is the main ingredient in ribollita, or a bread and cabbage soup.

To create this peasant soup traditionally made from leftover veg, saute two leeks, a carrot and two celery stalks in oil until soft. Add two diced potatoes, two garlic cloves, two diced zucchini and a head of cavolo nero leaves, along with a tin of chopped tomatoes. Cook gently for an hour, add soaked and cooked cannellini beans and water to make a broth. Serve in bowls over crunchy bread and finish with extra virgin olive oil.

FENNEL

“I love this raw in salads,” Antonio says. “Also braised or baked is wonderful.” In his book, Antonio makes a prawn and fennel sauce for linguine, where fennel is braised with shallots, butter, oil and white wine until soft, tossed with prawns and finished with dill.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

“Abandon the idea of children who don’t want to eat their greens. If you prepare the so-called greens in a certain way, the children will accept this as well. Because they taste good, that’s the major thing,” Antonio says. “I created a gratin of sprouts with parmesan cheese and bechamel sauce.”

Show us a kid that won’t eat that.

CANNELLINI BEANS

“These are wonderful in pasta fagioli (beans with pasta), but I also I love cannellini beans in salads with garlic, olive oil and rosemary.”

Gently fry some garlic in oil, before adding a large tomato (deseeded and finely chopped) a fresh rosemary sprig and a tin of drained beans. These warmed beans can be used as a side to a protein (beef, pork), eaten on their own with crusty bread, or used as a base for vongole (clams) and mussels.

BROCCOLI

“I like it freshly boiled, al dente. Then fry in a little bit of olive oil, some garlic and chilli, then pour that on top of the broccoli.”

BEETROOT

“I created a lasagne using a large beetroot (for my book). It’s excellent!” Antonio says.

He takes large beetroots (boiled until soft) cut into slices and layers them in a tray alternating with ham and bechamel (leave out the ham to make it a vegetarian dish).

EGGPLANT

The parmigiana is a popular dish, but Antonio also enjoys eggplant medallions baked with mozzarella and tomato sauce. Or blanch ribbons in vinegar and water, then store under oil to be used as one part of antipasto.

CAPSICUM

A great way to treat capsicum is to cook it with bagna cauda, a