Contaldo - Gennaro: slow cook Italian

Gennaro Contaldo

Slow cooking is one of my favourite ways to cook: its simple, stress-free and allows you to get on with other things safe in the knowledge that slowly, slowly the stove-top or oven is doing its job. Stews and sauces bubble on the hob, a roast cooks in the oven with herbs gently infusing the meat, breads and cakes bake, all filling the house with mouthwatering smells and creating that special warmth which nothing else can.

It takes me back in time to when only a generation or so ago everyone cooked on coals and wood. There was no gas or electricity, and food sometimes took all day (or even all night) to cook. Soups gently simmered on wood-burning stoves, potatoes were baked in the ash from the days fire, and whole animals were cooked in underground pits.

My mother, grandmother, aunt and sisters would leave a rag or soup very gently bubbling on the hob so that there was always a hot meal ready, whatever time the rest of the family got home. Delicious cooking smells filled the house, giving it that warm and cosy feeling of home and all that is good and wholesome; a bad day at school or work would somehow be soothed away.

When I was in my teens, people in the village, including my family, were changing their kitchens and the latest trend was to have a new gas cooker incorporating stove-top and oven in the same unit. Huge green gas cylinders were hauled up the stairs of apartments and attached to the cooker. There was much excitement as people talked about their new American gadget that made cooking much quicker. The flame was instant and it was no longer necessary to light a fire.

Gradually, over the years, supplies of coal and wood were replaced with the cylinders. Shrewd housewives always kept a spare, especially during winter and feast times. My grandfather refused to change, and kept the same old range; this is where the family got together for Sunday lunches and special occasions until he died in the early 1980s. At the time, I could not believe he would forgo such luxury. It was not until years later, as an adult and chef, that I looked back with much fondness and nostalgia at that old kitchen range the romance of the flickering flame, the warmth of a real fire, the smell of burning wood and ash. Thats why, a few years ago, I had a rustic kitchen built in my garden with a wood-fired oven and stove; now I can recreate those slow, slow-cooked dishes of my childhood using copper pans and terracotta pots, and enjoy the oh-so-wonderful smells of freshly baked bread from the wood oven.

Dried beans, chickpeas and lentils, soaked overnight in preparation for the next days meal, are an essential and economical part of the slow-cooking repertoire. Pulses were especially important during the winter, when fresh vegetables were in shorter supply, and to ensure a varied diet we always kept a selection in our store cupboard cannellini beans, borlotti beans, chickpeas, broad (fava) beans, dried peas and lentils, as well as some local varieties. In the evening, after dinner, my elder sisters would check the beans or lentils for small stones and other impurities, rinse them well, place them in a large terracotta pot and cover them with water to soak overnight. In the morning, the water was drained and the pulses cooked in the same pot: terracotta was used for most of our slow-cooked dishes, as it not only enhanced the flavour of the food but also kept it warmer for longer. Beans and pulses are high in protein, and are so nutritious that they used to be known as poor mans meat.

Nowadays, you can find all sorts of canned beans and pulses, which just need heating up, but I still love the ritual of handling the dried ones, putting them in water to soak and thinking of how to cook them. As well as retaining their texture and shape during cooking (the canned variety can get quite mushy), they taste far better. Once soaked, they are simply cooked in fresh water for an hour or so until tender (red kidney beans must be boiled hard for 10 minutes before the long simmering) and then you can use them according to your recipe. Sometimes I enjoy them as a dish in their own right, with some good extra virgin olive oil, garlic and herbs. So simple, so nutritious and so delicious.

The great thing about slow cooking is that you can use economical cuts of meat from different parts of the animal lamb neck and shanks, pork belly and shoulder, beef chuck, shin and brisket, and offal such as tongue and oxtail, for example rather than the tender cuts that are quick to cook but expensive. Although sometimes looked down upon, these cuts of meat make wonderful meals. When I was a child in Italy, no part of the animal was wasted, and this is still true in rural areas.

By slow cooking these tougher cuts, adding herbs and spices, you can produce a meal fit for a king, giving you maximum flavour for minimum effort while being kinder on your purse and respectful to the animal. Try the rustic mutton stew, .

Game is fantastic for slow cooking too, and I consider myself lucky to have grown up in a family that loved to hunt. I learned not only how to hunt the animals, but also how to clean and cook them, and I still use my fathers tips and recipes for rabbit, hare and pheasant. In season, I love to go out with friends on hunting trips and bring home whatever I catch. Pheasant makes a delicious rag to serve with pasta, , can be used for almost any game, including wild boar, hare or rabbit.

Slow cooking is comfort food at its best and easiest. Ask anyone what their favourite meal is, and you will very likely be told their mums casserole, stew, roast or bake. With food, as with many other things in life, its often the simple things that give the most pleasure and stay in our memories. Slow cooking goes back to basics: no major cooking skills or fancy gadgets are needed. A good, sturdy cooking pot or cast-iron casserole dish, ovenproof pans and roasting tins, plus a couple of wooden spoons, are all you really need.

A food processor or blender is undoubtedly useful, but when I was a child these items were almost unimaginable: whatever we cooked we did everything by hand, and there is always an alternative to modern gadgets it will take longer, but the results will be just as good.

We didnt have electric slow cookers when I was a child and I still dont use one at home, preferring to use the old-fashioned stove-top. However, if you do have a slow cooker, you could use it for many of my recipes. With a slow cooker, once youve done the basic preparation you can leave the food to cook gently without worrying about things boiling dry. Cooking times are longer, so you need plenty of liquid, but you dont need to be in the kitchen to check the food as it cooks. We have included tips for recipes that work well in a slow cooker.

Dishes that are cooked all in one pot, either on the stove-top or in the oven, are great for entertaining and they can often be made in advance so all you have to do is reheat them when you have friends round. This way, you will have more time to relax, knowing that what you have made is cooked to perfection and you dont need to keep popping into the kitchen. One-pot dishes are also ideal for busy people. Set aside a little time to make a stew, pasta sauce or soup and freeze in batches for a quick, home-cooked meal at the end of the day..