Great British Food Christmas 2024

THE JOY OF Comfort food feeds the soul – a tangible, edible hug that roots us ina place and time. Great BritishFood discovers top chefs’most soothing dishes comfort food GENNARO CONTAL DO , chef, author and campaign ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano PDO The comfort food of my childhood is the freshly baked breadmy mother would make. The smell would get me out of bed in no time! I would devour the warm bread dunked inmy bowl of milky coffee. What a wonderful way to start the day. There is also my zia (aunt) Maria’s slow-cookedmeat ragu. It was a favourite at Sunday lunch, when all the family would gather round. The rich tomato sauce would be served with homemade pasta and topped with Parmigiano Reggiano as a first course, followed by succulent pieces of meat like beef brisket, pork ribs and sausage as a main course. I recreated this inmy book, Slow . For a quick, midweek meal, my mum wouldmake her version of risotto, adding bits of leftover vegetables to the rice and leaving it to gently bubble away with enough stock. She never bothered to add a ladle at a time and stir constantly as you would whenmaking a classic risotto, but somehow it didn’t matter as it tasted delicious. Today, most of my cooking reflects my upbringing and classic Italian dishes. I love pasta, andmy go-to is a simple plate of spaghetti with a quick tomato sauce made with ripe cherry tomatoes, olive oil, chilli and garlic. It takes so little time to prepare, but is satisfying and delicious every time. 31 greatbr i t i shfoodawards.com FEATURE | COMFORT FOOD