What have I got?
I've got over 50 years' experience of eating.
And I'm a home cook, maybe just like you
I'm also 50% Italian and over the years I've spent a great deal of time in Italy. It's fair to say that pasta and me are very good friends.
Now I've decided that it's time to put all of that to good use and write a cookbook.
And that's what you're reading right now.
the pasta cookbook you've never been able to buy
Pasta & Magic has turned out to be the pasta recipe book I've never been able to buy myself - the classic dishes that everyone wants to cook side by side contemporary recipes and ingredients, all categorised and sorted in a unique way that makes getting inspiration for your own meals incredibly easy.
absolutely anyone can cook like this
All the recipes you see in Pasta & Magic are real meals I've cooked for my own family.
No professional chefs or stylists, just me in a domestic kitchen, photographing the pasta I've cooked, moments before eating it with my family.
If I can cook like this, so can you.
I bet you you've never thought about pasta like this before
Pasta & Magic is based on the idea that the universe contains only 4 different types of pasta sauce. Honestly. Every dish you could think of is built on either an Oil, Pesto, Dairy or Tomato sauce.
And thinking of pasta recipes in terms of what type of sauce they are makes it much easier to find inspiration for what to cook, with whatever ingredients you have.
But as well as exploring the recipe chapters by type of sauce, you can use the search box in many other different ways to find a dish that matches what ingredients you've got to hand... or just what you fancy for dinner!
no ads, just recipes
For each recipe you'll find full ingredients, a summary and then a detailed method for each one, and not a single Google Ad - which means you'll only have to read what you want to.
And we're teaming up with some of the UK's top food brands to offer Pasta & Magic subscribers exclusive discounts on their products.
During the website launch offer, Pasta & Magic only costs less than a fancy burger or pint of beer... but the best news is that if you sign up to be one of my Affiliate Marketers, you can get Pasta & Magic for free.
italian
There's not much I can do about me being genetically only 50% Italian, but I can tell you that I grew up eating Italian food in a relatively 'foodie' family, and that I've spent at least 7 years of my life IN Italy (click here to read more about my background).
So it's fair to say that most of the recipes in Pasta & Magic are based on real food cooked in Italian families by 'mammas' and 'nonnas', friends and relatives. Many of them are recipes with a lot of history and local heritage, including some of my own family's pasta dishes. I've been able to trace some of those back about 120 years.
But even where I've included more unusual or contemporary recipe ideas, I've always been inspired by classic combinations of flavours and ingredients.
the mystery of the
history of Italian food
I certainly don't call myself a 'food historian' but whenever possible in Pasta & Magic I've tried to research the history of specific recipes, or the traditional use of particular ingredients.
Why? Because I think finding out about traditionally paired ingredients or flavours or cooking techniques and figuring out WHY they work really does help you get inspiration for new dishes; as well as being a fascinating culinary Time Machine for your taste buds.
And there's nothing wrong with tweaking or adapting classic or 'traditional' (whatever that means!) recipes, as long as you give them different names or label them appropriately and can back up your reasons for doing something differently.
History teaches us what we did and used to be and, as far as I'm concerned, what we used to eat. But it gives us signposts to the future too
coming in the future
At some point in the future I'm planning to publish a printed, hardback cookbook featuring a selection of the recipes on this website. For the moment, though, this is the only place you can read Pasta & Magic.
Over the next 12 months I'll also be expanding the site to include different content and features. You’ll also see more video clips and content, as short tips and also to illustrate selected recipes.
If you’re interested in working or collaborating with me in any way, have a look at this page too and get in touch if there’s an opportunity that interests you.
For less than the cost of a fancy burger or a beer or whatever else you buy for very little of your local currency, I can give you all of this.
• over 100 pasta recipes •
• exclusive discounts from top food brands •
• new monthly recipes •
• discounted print edition •
• exclusive members-only merch •
* launch offer valid 27th Mar 2024 - 4th Jul 2024