• Rella on July 01, 2013

  Let me correct this note that I just posted. The eISBN number is 978-07704-3702-2; and the ISBN 978-07704-3701-5 listed on the library book copyright 2012 and has a different cover than either of the two Nigellissima book covers listed on EYB. Also, the library book says "Nigellissima Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes.

• Rella on July 01, 2013

  978-0-7704-3702-2 is the book at the library that says on the front "Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes" The picture on the library book is neither one of the two "Nigellissima" books shown here at EYB.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sicilian pasta with tomatoes, garlic & almonds

  • Yildiz100 on November 24, 2018

    I am a garlic lover, but I would agree, this is a little heavy on the garlic. The garlic sharpness was useful, however, in offsetting the sweetness of the raisins. I thought the balance was good, but my six year old, who did not know about the raisins or any of my doubts about the recipe, immediately commented "pretty good pasta mom, but it is too sweet." I will repeat this anyway, not because it is outstanding, but because the effort to taste ratio is very favorable.

  • KarinaFrancis on February 25, 2014

    Although my version looked nothing like the photo it tasted every bit as good as Nigella promised. Perfect for weekdays, the sauce is made in less time than the pasta takes to cook. The only change I made was to scatter some dried chilli on top.

  • Susan_F on May 30, 2014

    How to make a delicious pasta meal with no effort at all! Next time I'd use less garlic and add a little pesto.

  • fibarr on February 10, 2017

    Quick, no cook dinner. As suggested I substituted parmesan for the anchovies.

• Pasta with courgettes

  • KarinaFrancis on February 04, 2014

    A great weeknight dinner, full of flavour, took less than 30 minutes. Next time I might try adding some bacon or pancetta... Update: tried it with pancetta and it is amazing!!!

  • FJT on May 17, 2023

    As written quite bland and boring ... and way too much courgette. Definitely needs something else.

  • TrishaCP on August 06, 2021

    I added the pancetta as suggested by KarinaFrancis and I was happy with that choice. You do need to be on point with your seasoning here because it will be bland otherwise.

  • Astrid5555 on April 15, 2020

    Needed a quick lunch for the family while using some zucchini left from last week’s CSA box. 25 minutes later lunch was on the table and everybody was happy. Not very appealing to look at but lots of pepper and garlic did the trick to turn this one into a tasty pasta dish worth repeating.

  • lilham on September 05, 2015

    I used 2/3 of the amount of courgettes in the recipe and felt it's enough. Found it a bit bland for my taste.

• Yellow spaghetti

  • Yildiz100 on August 27, 2018

    Bland, watery. Not an exciting way to use saffron. Was surprised to find the marsala was not detectable. Quite a lot of egg for the amount of pasta.

• Green pasta with blue cheese

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    Only OK.

• Fettuccine with mushrooms, Marsala & mascarpone

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    Really delicious and very indulgent-tasting pasta dish. There's a lovely creaminess to it, and depth of flavour from the mushrooms. I used a mix of dried wild mushrooms instead of dried porcini only and it still turned out great.

  • herbietea on February 05, 2013

    Delicious! Really rich and flavoursome

• Quick Calabrian lasagne

  • TrishaCP on December 30, 2020

    This was pretty good and fast for a lasagna. I did make some tweaks. I didn’t use the eggs (that didn’t sound appealing to me), and I had quite thick slices of ham so I alternated layers. I also only used half of the water specified and I’m really glad that I did as my lasagna would have been really liquidy otherwise. (I had no-boil noodles.) The sauce in particular was flavorful for few ingredients (though I did add some oregano).

  • JuneHawk on January 28, 2015

    Very good. Does not reheat well, though.

• Spaghettini with lemon & garlic breadcrumbs

  • Prim on October 01, 2016

    I've made this many times, very good… increased garlic to 3 cloves.

• Pasta with mackerel, Marsala & pine nuts

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    I made this with tinned mackerel fillets instead of the smoked mackerel fillets suggested, but the results were still delicious. Using the tinned mackerel makes it a cheap, easy storecupboard dish that even my partner who doesn't like fish that much enjoyed. I also omitted the sultanas.

  • Boffcat on March 06, 2017

    Quick, easy and tasty. I omitted the pine nuts as they're too expensive to use lightly, and didn't miss them.

• Spaghetti with tuna, lemon & rocket

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    Fine, but not as good as some of the other pasta recipes in this book.

  • lilham on October 06, 2021

    I wasn’t wow by this. I prefer a similar lemon and tuna pasta recipe in Jamie Oliver’s Italy. Won’t make again.

• Pasta risotto with peas & pancetta

  • Astrid5555 on March 07, 2015

    This is probably the quickest weeknight dinner recipe ever. Just cook the pancetta until crisp, add the frozen peas, add the orzo pasta together with boiling water and let cook for 10 minutes. Stir in butter and Parmesan cheese and you have a delicious, comforting dinner the whole family will love. Yum!

  • redjanet on January 07, 2014

    This is a perfect recipe for when you don't have a lot of time on your hands but you need a dinner that is warm and soothing and easy to make. Similar to the flavours of a quick linguine recipe from Nigella Bites, this is easy to eat comfort food.

  • Yildiz100 on April 21, 2015

    Definitey quick and easy. I'm not sure that the combination of peas and pancetta (or, turkey bacon, in my case) is to my taste. We reduced the meat from 6 ounces to 2 ounces and we thought that was plenty. We doubled the amount of cheese to get that creamy risotto like texture. We enjoyed this, but I plan on trying some other "orzotto" recipes before putting this on the regular rotation.

• Farro risotto with mushrooms

  • annapanna on November 07, 2013

    Really good! I substituted white wine for Marsala, otherwise followed the recipe to the letter. 25 minutes cooking time was enough. I actually liked it better than regular rice risotto. I was skeptical about adding Ricotta but it really works here. We will surely make this again.

  • kateastoria on December 16, 2021

    Great, even using red vermouth instead of marsala, possibly a bit lighter than it would have been. Should be good as a side for pork chops or salmon steaks

• Butterflied leg of lamb with bay leaves & balsamic vinegar

  • southerncooker on November 06, 2018

    Found a great deal on butterflied leg of lamb at our local Aldi several months ago and was looking for a recipe that didn't contain rosemary or mint and ran across this one. (Son hates rosemary and mint but loves lamb). I made this for us and it was so good.

  • Elizabeth.f on April 08, 2018

    Served with potato, celeriac and parsnip Boulangere, whole carrots glazed with butter and cumin, and wild garlic, basil and Parmesan pesto

• Pork chops with fennel seeds & allspice

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    A really delicious recipe for pork chops, the marsala sauce really elevated them and the cooking method produced perfectly cooked chops.

  • TrishaCP on July 06, 2020

    Lovely flavors. I used the thin cut chops and the cooking times were spot on.

  • Zosia on April 18, 2015

    Very nice flavour and the cooking method works well with thinner cut chops with a reduced cooking time.

• Pork loin with Parma ham & oregano

  • Vanessa on December 27, 2012

    Easy to make, impressive to serve. It also created an impressive dent in my wallet. But I thought it was blah in flavor (though my guests scarfed it right down!).

  • anniemac on November 22, 2015

    Easy and tasty. Everyone I have served it to has loved it.

• Venetian stew

  • Foodycat on October 20, 2021

    Nice and very quick to make but not amazing - a midweek meal rather than for a special occasion. But it did get polenta past my husband without a complaint for the first time ever so I will probably make that component again.

• Tagliata for two

  • KarinaFrancis on March 07, 2019

    Simple, quick and very tasty. It’s one of those “total exceeds the sum of the parts” dishes. I had some sourdough on hand, so grilled that to sop up the delicious juices. Will be making this a few more times before summer is over.

  • Breadcrumbs on July 03, 2015

    p. 70 – This dish took me by surprise, as I didn’t expect it to wow me the way it did. I’m not a big beef-eater but I do love tomatoes so this seemed like a great way to satisfy mr bc and I with one dish. Somehow the acidity of the tomatoes and the simple vinaigrette elevate this dish and turn it into something really special. The meat absorbs some of the vinaigrette as it rests and is juicier and more flavourful for it. One of my favourite steak preparations. I’ll be making this again soon. This would be a perfect company dish as the steaks could be prepared well in advance. Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1018192?commentId=9628514#9628514

  • fibarr on February 10, 2017

    Love this recipe, simple but great flavors

• Meatzza

  • wester on March 28, 2017

    I like this idea, but I think it needs some tweaking. I think I would like to add more eggs to make it more like a pizza bottom, and cook longer before adding the mozzarella, so it can crisp up a bit (like my daughter wants). I'd also add a larger amount of herbs.

  • KarinaFrancis on February 21, 2022

    This is a bit of a novelty, not a bad thing but probably not one I’d be likely to repeat. In its favour it was tasty and reasonably easy

  • Zosia on April 11, 2015

    Don't quite know what to make of this ......I think it would make a decent sandwich filling since it tasted somewhat like a meatball cooked in tomato sauce yet took a fraction of the time to make, but it was a little odd served in wedges with bread and a salad.

• Shortcut sausage meatballs

  • Pizzacat13 on September 24, 2021

    It's genius to use sausages to make quick mini meatballs. This recipe is on rotation in our household!

  • herbietea on February 01, 2013

    Much better the dry, beef meatballs - used ordinary sausage instead if Italian ones

  • MariaPereira on September 23, 2022

    Quick, easy and delicious...and the children can help :

• Sausages with beans & peppers

  • LadyCJKT on December 31, 2017

    A delicious dish that's very easy to put together. A really comforting and satisfying meal.

  • Hellyloves2cook on July 04, 2013

    Well- easy- fry some sausages and open a few cans of things and there you have a quick tasty meal that satisfies the family on a cold day! Only complaints being that there was not enough!

• Monkfish wrapped in rosemary, lemon & Parma ham

  • Pamsy on December 31, 2022

    Cooked for NYE dinner for 2 of us but kept the fillets whole and served with saute potatoes and tenderstem broccoli. Very good.

• Squid & prawns with chilli & marjoram

  • iamtabu on March 07, 2014

    Disappointing recipe. As written, the marjoram was too overpowering and the lemon underwhelming. Sautéeing the lemon zest from the beginning also seemed to kill its flavor. It would be much better to add lemon zest towards the end so that it was still brightly flavored.

• Tuscan tuna tartare

  • Frogcake on June 05, 2016

    Provided you have high quality (sushi grade tuna), this is an amazingly delicious appetizer that can be whipped up in exactly one minute.

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    Nice, but it didn't really knock my socks off. There are other ways I'd prefer to eat fresh tuna.

• Italian traybake

  • Zosia on August 29, 2015

    I made this with sausages only. It wasn't particularly special, but it was easy to put together, tasted good and was very family friendly (and sometimes that's all I'm looking for on a busy day!)

• Chicken with tarragon salsa verde

  • Yildiz100 on May 11, 2015

    We sauteed the chicken instead of baking since we were using boneless skinless chicken breasts. The preparation was straight-forward, but preparing the herbs was time-consuming. Even though this was tasty, I'm not sure I'd make it again unless I had a bunch of tarragon to use up. There was nothing really wrong with it, but with so many ways to make chicken, the bar for repeats is really high.

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    Totally agree with the other note that says it's nice enough but not one I'd repeat given all the other ways to serve chicken breasts and all the sauces you could put with them.

• Green beans with pistachio pesto

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    Really nice, unusual way to serve green beans. I made these an accompaniment to a cote de boeuf and potatoes. Don't skimp on the seasoning, needs more salt than you might think.

• Roast red onions with basil

  • Jas on February 18, 2013

    Delicious! Very easy and enjoyed as part of a roast dinner.

• Spinach baked with ricotta & nutmeg

  • jtrewhella on February 16, 2021

    I loved this, but heeding the note below, I put in plenty of salt, pepper and nutmeg. I only had 200g spinach but I used the specified amounts of all the other ingredients. It made a lovely lunch for one.

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    I found this quite bland and disappointing. It needed a lot more seasoning.

• Garlic mushrooms with chilli & lemon

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    Nice enough mushroom recipe.

• Roast Brussels sprouts with rosemary, lemon & pecorino

  • Ro_ on November 09, 2020

    My sprouts were small, and 20m was a smidge too long for them, they probably only needed 15m. I used parmesan instead of pecorino. Really nice flavours, but I wanted more lemon, more oil and more parmesan. Would bump up amounts next time.

  • KarinaFrancis on May 12, 2022

    These were good, but like Ro_ I wanted more of all the flavourings.

• Cannellini beans with rosemary

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    Delicious and simple recipe. Would particularly recommend as an accompaniment to lamb being served with a sauce or gravy.

  • Frogcake on June 20, 2016

    This dish is quick, easy and absolutely delicious. I used scratch beans rather than the canned ones. It's lovely aromatic in the brief cooking phase -My kitchen smelled heavenly! As Nigella recommended, we ate leftovers cold with tuna. Yum, yum. Another easy dish for my foodie, university-aged sons.

• Gnocchi gratin

  • Pizzacat13 on September 24, 2021

    Flavour was yummy. I found I had to turn the broiler on to get the breadcrumbs to colour up and freshly grated nutmeg makes all the difference in the world. Nigella is right though, don't let this sit for too long, it literally starts to seize up as it cools. Not sure what to do with the leftovers- perhaps put them in a waffle maker??

  • Foodycat on April 03, 2022

    I made a half quantity, but doubled the milk and just stirred the gnocchi straight in without precooking it - I've been doing gnocchi dishes like that for a while and find them less stodgy and more flavoursome than boiling first. It was very successful! I will follow the earlier note and add some garlic next time.

  • Breadcrumbs on July 03, 2015

    P. 131 – Oh my, this was delicious. But then, how could you go wrong with mascarpone and little pillows of potatoey goodness!! This isn’t a dish for every day but it certainly hits the spot in a big way if you’re looking for a special pasta that comes together in no time and packs a big punch. Everyone loved this dish, there wasn’t a scrap left. I veered from the original recipe ever so slightly by melting a little chopped garlic in the pan in some evoo before adding the cheese mixture. The garlic was a great addition and something I’ll continue to use in the future. Outstanding! Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1018192?commentId=9628514#9628514

• Tuscan fries

  • Popisdead on February 05, 2021

    Such an easy fries recipe. Now my go to way to cook them.

  • Ro_ on September 29, 2019

    Nice results, but I would maybe add more garlic and rosemary next time to try to get those flavours to come through more in the finished fries. I used a deep fryer.

• Iced berries with limoncello white chocolate sauce

  • wester on February 27, 2017

    Frozen berries with a hot chocolate sauce - excellent, and it doesn't have to be white chocolate either. A citrus note is essential though - I used some orange zest instead of the limoncello.

  • Susan_F on October 31, 2013

    Incredibly easy to make and absolutely wonderful!

• Instant chocolate-orange mousse

  • Hellyloves2cook on July 04, 2013

    Easy and quick to make. I left out the orange liqueur as serving to my children also. The mouse was not the conventional recipe with egg yolks mixed in with the melted chocolate and folding in egg whites- no, this was eggless. Set quickly and very firm in the fridge after just 30 mins. Quite dense and rich also. Makes 6 portions and all of our family members struggled to eat it. Half the portion would suffice. Very tasty however!

  • Ro_ on November 22, 2020

    In terms of texture I was unsure this was going to be sufficiently light, unsure whether I'd whipped the cream and condensed milk enough. However, the texture was spot on. What I didn't like so much was the fact that, for my taste, the chocolate wasn't intense enough and the predominent flavour was the oiliness coming from the cream and condensed milk. I would have liked a higher ratio of chocolate. Maybe I'll experiment with making this again with more chocolate and less condensed milk, but I'm not sure.

• Nutella panna cotta

  • Astrid5555 on January 01, 2016

    Nutella, heavy cream and milk, what's not to like here? These were delicious and a big hit especially with the kids.

• One-step no-churn coffee ice cream

  • Astrid5555 on December 24, 2017

    Love it! So quick to make with a really nice coffee flavor.

  • Yildiz100 on June 06, 2019

    I used the proportions of heavy cream and condensed milk to make a vanilla ice cream instead. A complete success. Better than many store bought ice creams (but not all) with no ice cream machine needed.

  • Susan_F on October 31, 2013

    The first spoonful of this was delicious. Unfortunately after a few more mouthfuls it was too sweet, sickly and cloying and really not very nice at all. Will definitely not be making this one again.

  • Foodycat on July 09, 2014

    Magic. Works with lots of other flavours too.

  • KatieK1 on August 23, 2022

    The ingredients list should be corrected to read "sweetened condensed milk" instead of just "condensed milk". I checked this out in the book after wondering where the sweetener was in the recipe. The online recipe needs to be corrected BTW as well.

• Chocolate hazelnut cheesecake

  • TLouise on February 03, 2021

    As per Lilham's comment I also thought this recipe was very simple and delicious but definately requires overnight chilling. I jazzed it up a little by adding a chocolate drizzle, chocolate ganache and a few mini Kinder bars. Picture uploaded.

  • HoneyBea on March 14, 2022

    I had to use up Nutella after children’s visit. A cinch of a recipe. Great if you are asked to bring a pudding to a gathering. Minimum effort maximum result.

  • Allie80 on June 13, 2021

    Very simple so good for children to help make. It's quite rich so for some only a very small slice will be wanted, although those with a sweet tooth will devour a large portion. It's the dessert I'm most often asked for the recipe for.

  • lilham on January 31, 2021

    Very simple and delicious. If you love both Nutella and cheesecake, then you must try this. The recipe says it’s ready after 4 hours. But find it better overnight.

• Italian apple pie

  • Prim on September 28, 2013

    Quick and easy apple cake. I used a whole chopped apple in the batter.

  • Astrid5555 on October 29, 2019

    Made this cake to use up some leftover apples. Comes together very quickly, nice enough.

• Ruby-red plum & amaretti crumble

  • Yildiz100 on October 10, 2019

    Nigella says she likes this dessert on the tart side, and I also prefer fruit desserts this way. The tartness level here was perfect. (I used a whole lemon instead of a half because mine was small and not very juicy.) The crumb topping had a nice flavor but it was a bit too sandy and did not form many clumps. I may have over processed the flour/butter mixture a bit, or maybe it is a bit low on butter. Made more crumb mixture than I could fit in the pan. Directions are vague. They tell you to cook plums on stove top, using your judgment for how long, but don't say what you are trying to achieve. I cooked mine till they were fully tinted red, but not breaking down much yet. Happy with the result.

  • KiwiHelen on February 21, 2014

    Made this with the last of the Black Doris plums. Fantastic colour!

• Yogurt pot cake

  • Lolly87654 on November 22, 2020

    Made this cake several times now and always turns out a success. I use bottled lemon juice and Sicilian lemon extract when I’ve no fresh lemons in and still works fine!

• Chocolate olive oil cake

  • s.shadan on June 06, 2022

    Much better with almond flour than plain flour. Has a brownie texture without being too heavy.

• Italian breakfast banana bread

  • Elnara on February 13, 2014

    Super easy to make: all in one bowl, no gadgets needed, a fork will do. Didn't have espresso instant so used 5 teaspoons normal (good Quality) instant. Tried a piece after baking: nice enough! But not superb. Tried another this morning: most excellent. It's a deeper flavour and the texture is perfect: light & moist. Like banana bread should be. I gave it 4 out of 5 (I reserve 5 stars for out of this world good stuff) and would recommend anyone trying it.

• Gorgonzola & cannellini dip with a tricolore flourish

  • julesamomof2 on September 28, 2016

    not good. unappetizingly gray. nobody touched it.

  • Ro_ on October 12, 2019

    I only sort of made this: used Bleu de Gex Haut Jura instead of Gorgonzola because I had some that I wanted to use up. And creme fraîche + lemon juice instead of yoghurt for same reason. The result was quite a stiff 'dip' even after adding a lot of extra olive oil. It looked pretty enough though with chives and dried chilli flakes sprinkled on it, and tasted good spread on slices of baguette. Not sure that the beans brought much to the party.

• Panettone stuffing squares

  • julesamomof2 on September 28, 2016

    served on Christmas with the gorgonzola dip and both were failures. I thought this was a great idea but nobody liked it

• Parmesan shortbreads

  • KarinaFrancis on November 16, 2019

    These were very tasty but a bit more crumbly that I expected. I added some chopped rosemary to half the batch (note to self add more next time). Silver fox has requested them at Christmas. Cooked on one tray for 15 minutes, would have been ok at 14.

  • Yildiz100 on May 14, 2019

    I used these as a basis for herb and parm shortbread. I added some chopped mixed herbs to the dough and changed the technique, rolling them out flat and using a cookie cutter so I could laminate whole herbs leaves on to the dough. They were delicious and I could tell they would have been delish without the herbs too. Note: I did use salted butter instead of unsalted and added a pinch of salt to the dough. They were just right. As written, they would have lacked salt.

  • j_h on January 01, 2018

    sprinkle with a bit of chilli

• Tomatoes, mozzarella & basil, my way

  • Ro_ on November 18, 2020

    A nice way to try to get the most out of tomatoes out of season, but a bit faffy overall.

• Pappardelle with chestnuts & pancetta

  • Astrid5555 on October 05, 2018

    Delicious and very quick to make. Used packaged cooked chestnuts and pre-cubed bacon, pasta sauce was done while pappardelle where still cooking. Will make again!

• Hearty wholewheat pasta with Brussels sprouts, cheese & potato

  • Foodycat on December 25, 2017

    I used Emmenthal instead of gruyere and some leftover roast potatoes instead of cooking fresh. It's a good take on pizzocheri - needs a lot more of the pasta water than you expect.

• Turkey breast stuffed with Italian sausage & Marsala-steeped cranberries

  • KarinaFrancis on August 03, 2016

    This was the centrepiece for our Christmas in July fest and it was a show stopper! Looked impressive, tasted amazing and very easy to carve. I had a nibble on it cold from the fridge the next morning (very nigella) and it was yum. A couple of changes, we used dried cherries and cooked it slow for 1.5 hrs then uncovered and turned up the heat to brown the skin for about 30 mins. Planning on doing it again for real Christmas

• Cranberry & pistachio biscotti

  • digifish_books on May 08, 2015

    Double quantity makes approx 28 pieces. I only had 75g pistachios (not enough for double quantity), so added 75g white chocolate buttons/bits and decreased total sugar to 100g.

• Cinnamon almond cake

  • Astrid5555 on January 10, 2016

    Made half a recipe in an 18cm springform pan to use up 4 leftover egg whites. This is a nice light dairy- and gluten-free cake with a subtle marzipan taste from the almonds. Very quick to make!

• Italian Christmas pudding cake

  • Foodycat on December 27, 2022

    I love this dessert so much! It halves pretty well too.

  • adelina on December 26, 2016

    This was one of the best desserts that I made. The panettone I bought was from trader Joe's and it already had chocolate chip so I didn't want more chocolate. I tried making my own candied chestnuts but cooking them down in simple syrup. I left out the pomegranates too and decorated with pistachios only. Everyone loved it.

• Boston Globe by T. Susan Chang

  Photos are gorgeous, evoking the unhurried enjoyment of food that has always been part of Lawson’s message. But the recipes themselves could benefit from more of that slow care.

  Full review

• Serious Eats

  ...a love letter to the country that inspired her as a chef. In her characteristic bubbly, passionate style, Nigella explains her inspiration in each recipe, showcasing its Italian influence.

  Full review

• Oregonian

  There's not much in here that's light. If you're dieting or looking for less-heavy fare for warm weather, look elsewhere.

  Full review