Gennaro's Cucina: Hearty Money-Saving Meals from an Italian Kitchen

Delicious, hearty Italian meals using accessible and affordable ingredients, by one of the world’s most beloved Italian chefs.

In an era of excessive convenience and disposable food waste, Gennaro's Cucina could not come at a better time—you will learn how to use simple ingredients in inventive ways, eat seasonally, spend less, and ultimately eat better.



“Cucina povera” is the food that traditionally fed the poor of Italy, yet remains the basis of most Italian dishes we love to eat today. It's a simple philosophy—delicious, hearty meals using accessible and affordable ingredients. Encouraging an ethos of zero waste, Gennaro's Cucina ensures that every part of the ingredient, and your budget, is put to good culinary use.

Along with the majority of post-war Italian families, a young Gennaro was raised on a diet harvested on a limited budget. Restricted choice of scarce ingredients meant they learned the value what they had, how to cook dishes lovingly, and use imaginative methods of preservation to make simple dishes go far: including salting, drying and curing.

In this inspirational cookbook, Gennaro takes you on a culinary journey of simple regional Italian staples and turns them into beautiful meals. With tips and ideas of what to do with leftovers, Gennaro helps home cooks squeeze maximum use from the “cucina povera” ethos, turning humble ingredients into nourishing feasts without sacrificing flavor.

From Sicilian chickpea fritters to lentil soups and bread salads, to more elaborate filled vegetables, delicious “poor-man’s” ricotta dumplings, and simple sweet biscotti, this book will transform the way you shop, cook, and eat.