We all love pizza, and Italian food immediately puts us in holiday mood, so even if we’re not heading to the airport, a new book from brothers James and Thom Elliott promises to sprinkle a dusting of sunshine on our home-cooked meals.
The pair resigned from what they call their “proper” jobs and travelled 2,500km around Italy in a three-wheel Ape van in search of the secrets to great pizza. The 30-mile an hour speed limit imposed by their means of transportation meant they had plenty of time to pick up recipes for other Italian favourites.
But it’s pizza that’s the star of the show here. As well as sharing their insights into creating the definitive Neapolitan crust, and traditional and more adventurous toppings, there’s whole chapter devoted to things you can make with your dough, other than pizza, like the saltimbocca sandwich pictured here. The boys also give instructions on how to build a pizza oven in your garden, if you get badly bitten by the pizza bug.
Recipes and images from Pizza Pilgrims, Recipes from the Backstreets of Italy, by James and Thom Elliott, published by HarperCollins (£20). Photographs by Myles New
