Bill's Italian Food

Bill's Italian Food

With more than 100 original recipes, Bill's Italian Food takes inspiration from the diversity of Italian regional food to make the most of fresh seasonal produce. Concentrating on simple, flavoursome dishes with short ingredient lists and uncomplicated methods, the recipes in this book are divided by solution-driven chapters that embody Bill's casual cooking and his spirit of generosity and sharing " approaches that perfectly reflect the Italian lifestyle.

Bill says, -As our pace of life gets ever faster and cooking for friends and family takes on the same hectic anxiety, why is it that a holiday in Italy sends me home optimistic, revitalised and striving to be a -little bit more Italian'? It can't be simply the great coffee (although that's certainly revitalising), the crisp pizza and fritto misto, or the antipasto platters shared under wide blue skies... There is something about the joyfully uncompromising Italian lifestyle, the stubborn refusal to hurry (over lunch, or to catch the autobus), and the sacrosanct importance of sitting down to dine with family that I always resolve to bring home to my kitchen. (And, of course, the golden rule of travel applies: never mention politics, money or sport. Stick to food " in Italy it's always a winner.)'

Pan-Fried Snapper, Capers and Lemon
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 snapper fillets (about 150g each), skin on
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

Method
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Season the snapper with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook, skin side down, for 2–3 minutes, until the skin is crisp and golden. Turn over and cook for a further minute then remove to a platter and keep warm.
Return the pan to the heat, turn up the temperature and heat the remaining oil. Tip in the capers, garlic and lemon slices and sizzle until the capers burst open and look crisp. Spoon over the snapper and serve with green bean and little gem salad.

Bill Granger is a restaurateur and self-taught cook whose relaxed and joyful approach to food is an essential element of his enduring popularity. Born in Melbourne into a family of butchers and bakers, Bill moved to Sydney when he was nineteen. There he opened his first restaurant, bills, at the age of 22 and now has three restaurants in Sydney, four in Japan and one in London. This year will see the opening of Bill's second restaurant in London and first in Hawaii. Bill regularly contributes to national magazines and newspapers and his television series have been viewed in 30 countries worldwide. Bill is based in Sydney and London with his wife and three daughters. Bill's Italian Food is his eleventh cookbook.


Bill's Italian Food
Harper Collins Australia
Author: Bill Granger
ISBN: 9780732294823