Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking—Traditional Family Recipes From Italy’s Best Home Cooks

by Vicky Bennison

"Heartwarming and deliciously comforting." – Stanley Tucci

Spending time with our family and friends has never felt so important - and so often this means cooking for the ones you love.

Who better to take inspiration from than Pasta Grannies who have spent their lifetimes plating up comfort and connection. Vicky Bennison, the author of the bestselling Pasta Grannies cookbook, brings you more heart-warming recipes and stories from our favourite Italian grandmothers in this easy-to-follow, crowd-pleasing recipe book that shows you how to make authentic Italian food that everyone will enjoy.

Discover 91 year-old Pina's chestnut gnocchi with walnut pesto, lovingly made with ingredients she grows around her home in Liguria; or 99 year-old Marietta's special tagliatelle recipe, which is not really a recipe at all but a reflection of her vegetable garden, the Calabrian countryside and the changing seasons. As well as meat, seafood and vegetable pasta recipes, chapters cover pizzas, pastries and pies, rice and pulses, dairy and herbs, nuts and spices.

Every recipe is accompanied with a QR code which, once scanned, will take you directly to the YouTube videos of these remarkable women and their recipes. Complete with stunning location and recipe photography throughout, with a clear guide to pasta making by hand, Pasta Comfort Cooking is not only a celebration of cooking and feasting together, it is an insight into their lives, and a joyous slice of the Italian way of life.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Italy, Cuisine, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2022

Reviews

[T]

A lovely cookbook to be sure, but not very applicable to those of us who have busy lives and no real time to spend in the kitchen. As such, I’m looking at this as less of a usable cookbook and more a visual history of pasta and pasta making.

[Giovanna Jansen]

Prachtig boek met geweldige, kwieke Italiaanse grannies (80+ tot bijna 100 jaar oud!) die met ingrediënten uit eigen keuken en moestuin de lekkerste pastagerechten maken!

[Allie]

The paper is thick and the edges are a perfect green. The cover is embossed and the fonts are wholesome. I read all the bios, studied the photos to enjoy their table linens and kitchens and aprons, and marked which recipes I will try (after watching their episodes). Pages 238-239 are my favorite.

[Katie]

I love the Pasta Grannies on YouTube, and while this cookbook is beautiful, the ingredients would be hard to find and the recipes are complicated.

[Mariclair Smit]

INSPIRED by a YouTube channel with the same name, Pasta Grannies is a beautiful cookbook chock full of delicious traditional recipes.

Readers are given the basic building blocks to help them prepare pasta from scratch. What was unique about this book is that it is as much about the people and history of Italy as the food.

Each recipe is taught by a different granny - or nonna - as one would say in Italian. The reader is given a little introduction to the nonna and where she’s from. We are also given some interesting facts about the dish or the unique ingredients.

Each recipe is also available on the YouTube channel and one can easily find them by scanning the corresponding QR code.

There are recipes for vegetarians, as well as seafood or meat lovers. Readers are also spoiled with a sprinkling of traditional pizza, pie and pastry recipes.

The layout is very concise, and complemented by beautifully wholesome photos of the nonne in action or of their completed dishes.

For those, like myself, who have never made pasta from scratch, the recipes may be a little challenging. Especially since a number of the nonne have worked in restaurants for a number of years. It’s definitely not a book for anyone looking for easy, quick recipes.

However, it is the perfect gift for anyone who loves pasta, Italian food and cooking in general. This is the second volume in the series, preceded by Pasta Grannies: The Official Cookbook: The Secrets of Italy's Best Home Cooks.

[Md: Amjad]

★★★★★

*Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking* is a beautiful celebration of Italian home cooking, tradition, and the stories passed down through generations. What makes this cookbook especially charming is its focus on real family recipes and the home cooks who have preserved them with care and pride.

The recipes feel comforting, authentic, and wonderfully inviting, with plenty of inspiration for anyone who loves homemade pasta and traditional Italian flavors. I particularly enjoyed the sense of history behind each dish—these aren't simply recipes, but pieces of family heritage brought into the kitchen.

The book also captures the warmth and simplicity of cooking for loved ones. It encourages readers to slow down, appreciate good ingredients, and enjoy the process rather than treating cooking as a chore.

A delightful cookbook for pasta enthusiasts and anyone interested in authentic Italian food traditions. The combination of heartfelt stories, practical recipes, and beautiful culinary heritage makes this a genuinely special addition to a cookbook collection. Five stars for its warmth, authenticity, and celebration of generations of Italian home cooks.

[Emily]

I watched one of the Pasta Grannies videos and was curious to see what a cookbook would be like. It’s an extremely aspirational cookbook, requiring special ingredients, tools, and a lot of kitchen time. As another reviewer said, it’s more of an anthropological look at Italian pasta making traditions than a book most American home cooks would try to cook from regularly, if at all. I also found the font/spacing a little cramped and hard to read. I would still watch more of the videos because it was fascinating to watch the ladies and their incredible skills, but I’d recommend that over the cookbook.

[Les livres de Popo]

Pas un livre pour enfants mais je veux toujours le feuilleter. Je l’appelle « le livre des mamies »
Des photos de Mamies et de pâtes, je suis conquis 🥰
J’ai aussi appris le déterminant possessif « ma » grâce à ce livre et à chaque photo de belle maison italienne je dis MA MAISON!!!

[Siobhan J]

A little less practical than it seems to think it is, but still fun enough. Wish it had easier substitution instructions, though.

[Carolyn]

What a great book to go along with the YouTube series!!