Vincenzo and Suzanne Prosperi are the husband-and-wife duo behind Vincenzo’s Plate, a website and YouTube cooking show that has supercharged the world’s already huge obsession with authentic Italian cooking.
They just released their debut cookbook, Authentic Italian, which brings together treasured family recipes from Vincenzo’s Abruzzese roots and Suzanne’s Calabrian heritage.
We sat down and had a chat with Vincenzo about family, food and culture to discover why it deserves to be at the centre of life. And along the way, he revealed some handy Italian cooking tips.
Why cooking for family is so important
Vincenzo grew up in Pescara in Abruzzo, learning to cook at his Nonna’s side. But it wasn’t just the food and recipes that was shared.
“For us, food has never just been food,” Vincenzo said. “It was how the family said “I love you” without ever having to say the words. I grew up in Pescara, raised mostly by my grandparents and great-grandparents while my parents ran the family grocery store. The kitchen was where everything happened: the gossip, the arguments, the laughing, the making-up, and of course the cooking! My maternal grandmother, Nonna Igea, never sat me down to “teach” me to cook, she just handed me a job and kept talking. So when I cook for my own family now, I’m not only feeding them, I’m handing them the whole thing – Abruzzo, Calabria, the Nonnas, the noise, the love. A plate of food is comfort, almost like a hug you can eat.”
The Italian approach to cooking
The Italian approach to whipping up dishes is quite simple. “Italians don’t cook to impress. We cook to feed the people we love,” Vincenzo said.
“The whole philosophy is: take a few really good ingredients and don’t ruin them! Real Italian food is not complicated. It’s not 47 ingredients and a clever technique. Instead, it’s three or four beautiful things, treated with respect, and a little patience. It’s also deeply regional. What my Nonna makes in Abruzzo is not what Suzanne’s family makes in Calabria, and we’ll both happily argue that ours is the better version.”
Ingredients worth spending money on
It’s quality over all else when it comes to a few Italian kitchen essentials. “Extra virgin olive oil – always,” Vincenzo said.
“It’s the soul of Italian cooking and more commonly known as ‘liquid gold’ for good reason! Pecorino Romano – if you know me, you know. When it comes to grated cheese, I always say: no Pecorino, no party! Good tomatoes are also a priority, San Marzano if you can find them. These three aren’t luxuries, but more the foundation. The secret nobody tells you is that you can keep everything else pretty gloriously simple, as long as these are quality.”
How to take the stress out of cooking for a crowd
Cooking for guests isn’t a matter of conjuring up big, impressive, elaborate dishes. Rather, it’s being organised and focusing on good flavour, using simple ingredients. Vincenzo shares a few tips to help you for the next time you’re entertaining.
“Cook the things that actually get better sitting overnight. Great options are a ragu, lasagna, a big tray of melanzane alla parmigiana (eggplant parmigiana). Anything you can make the day before, so that on the day you’re pouring the wine instead of panicking at the stove,” he said.
“Cook one thing really well rather than 10 things in a hurry. I also like to let people help. A true Italian kitchen is never a solo act, someone’s stirring, someone’s setting the table, someone’s “supervising” with a glass in hand. The real secret is that nobody remembers whether the timing was perfect, but they do remember that the table was full, and so were they.”
Vincenzo’s go to weeknight dinner
It isn’t always a big, Italian feast. During the week, Vincenzo shares that he focuses on making quick and easy recipes.
“The beauty of Italian cooking is that a proper dinner can be on the table in 20 minutes – a good spaghetti aglio e olio (spaghetti with garlic and olive oil), or whatever vegetables are looking happy in the fridge combined to make a minestrone, or a caprese (salad) with a perfectly cooked steak.”
Buy the Authentic Italian cookbook
If you want the Authentic Italian cookbook, grab it on Amazon, or at Big W.
