Jamie Cooks Italy (2018) s01e03 Episode Script
Naples
1 Buongiorno, Torino! There's nowhere quite like Italy.
Look how busy it is.
I love it.
The landscapes, the people, the history.
It's unbelievable.
And, of course, the most amazing food.
Oh! I'm just having a moment.
I love it, and I always have done.
This is like my idea of heaven.
Great food here isn't about Michelin-starred chefs, it's about home-cooked recipes.
So in this series, I'm going right to the heart of Italian cooking Ohh! Ooh! So good.
.
.
to the mamas and the nonnas of Italy.
These are some of the best home-cooked recipes in the world.
They've perfected recipes handed down over generations.
I'm just doing what I'm told.
I love it.
I'm travelling far and wide to see what secrets I can learn from these true masters of the kitchen.
That is a game-changer.
And I'll be showing you how to cook up delicious Italian dishes With flavour like this, you're going to go nuts.
.
.
that use the nonnas' way to transform the simple into the sublime.
I'm going to have to stop myself eating.
It's so good.
I am so excited! Me and my mate and mentor, Gennaro Contaldo, are in Naples to uncover the secrets of this fiery city's ancient recipes.
Mamma mia! You have to drive with conviction, cos these guys are nutters.
I know.
Everyone, the drivers, the scooters, the people, they're all completely crazy.
Shadowed by the volatile Mount Vesuvius, Naples has a fearsome reputation.
It's a colourful city, with food to match.
From seafood, fresh out of the bay, to its sensational street food snacks.
The food's going to be amazing.
The pastas, the seafood, the shellfish.
What else? The pizza.
Pizza! Pizza! Naples is the South's largest metropolis, and the undisputed pizza capital of the world.
Look, wherever you look, it's food, food, food! I want to find out the secrets of the true Neapolitan pizza.
And Gennaro's taking me to where this legendary street food was born, the gritty Spanish Quarter.
If you look at anything near climbing distance, there's bars over everything.
In the past, these streets would have been full of nonnas, selling the forerunner to the city's famous takeaway.
We all know the pizza from the oven, right? Um, but actually, predating that was pizza fritta, like the ultimate sort of street food.
The true Neapolitan pizza.
Gennaro's heard about one nonna who's still making pizza here the old-fashioned way.
Buongiorno.
Buongiorno.
And I can't wait to see how she makes it.
Hey! That's the pizza fritta.
Ciao! Buongiorno! Buongiorno.
79-year-old Nonna Fernanda is a local legend.
She's been cooking up her pizza fritta on the same spot since she was a girl.
And you only survive here with feisty Neapolitan ways.
Pizza fritta.
Look at that.
That's pizza fritta.
This is so far away from what most people around the world think a pizza is.
These days, pizza fritta is a cheap, on-the-go snack.
But Nonna still prides herself on making the best dough in town.
She uses a fine grain of flour, called Tipo 00.
Yeast, water and a pinch of salt.
Use my fingers.
In Naples, it's a sin to use a rolling pin.
And when it comes to technique, it's Nonna's way or no way.
I'm a little bit scared but I'm going with it, OK.
Nonna's even more strict about the filling.
Ah, interesting.
Pork scratchings.
OK, scusi.
No.
Too much.
So, pork scratchings, which are going to be delicious.
And then crushed tomatoes.
Not like this? OK.
So it's basically like a kind of pizza ravioli, a calzone, you know? Nonna flash fries her pizza until the filling is melted and delicious .
.
and the outside is puffy, golden and crisp.
She's brilliant.
Proper feisty.
She's been doing it so long.
You have to kind of go back hundreds of years to remember that actually, having an oven and fuelling it with wood, would be, you know, much more expensive than just boiling fat.
Really? Yeah.
And your mamma cooked these? La mamma, si.
Yeah.
Really? 10 kids? Clearly! I've got five.
Finito? OK.
It's amazing to think that Nonna's entire family lived here in this one room, frying up the city's first fast food to make ends meet.
Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, melting cheese.
You kind of know it's going to be good.
Where to start? Grazie.
Gennaro, what do you think? This is delicious.
I love it.
Mmm! The blend of ricotta and mozzarella and the pork scratchings, tomatoes is so good.
What's amazing is the recipe hasn't changed in 100 years.
Delizioso.
Grazie mille.
Ciao, Fernanda! Ciao! Ciao, ciao! Grazie! My God, it's good.
Nonna's age-old pizza fritta is the ultimate indulgent street food.
It's fast, fresh and flippin' tasty.
Nonna Fernanda's really inspired me to show you how to make the most amazing pizza at home.
So I'm bringing it back to the oven-baked classic.
My simple pizza recipe will help you deliver restaurant quality from your very own kitchen.
And just like Nonna Fernanda's, the first step to success is the dough.
So this is a really good Neapolitan-style pizza base recipe.
It's going to look after you.
It's really reliable, it's solid, it works every single time.
So to start the dough, we're going to go in with 700ml of water.
Make sure the water is at room temperature, and add 10g of salt.
Then we're going to go in with just a little handful of flour.
It starts to turn it into a little bit of a batter, so there's a few rules to the best pizza you can make at home.
The flour is Tipo 00 - it means very fine, OK? And it's strong flour.
Now, we're going to go in with 10g of yeast.
If you can't get fresh yeast, use a 7g sachet of the dried stuff.
And that's going to give you a little bit of rise, OK? Add the rest of the kilo bag of flour.
This will make enough for six large pizzas.
It'll get thicker and thicker.
Once it's mixed into a smooth paste, pop it onto a floured worktop, and start the all-important kneading process.
So, this 20 minutes' kneading is an investment, and that's going to hold the air, and when it gets cooked, that's what's going to give you that crispiness and that sponginess, right? Cover and rest for another 20 minutes.
Roll into a sausage, and divide into six fist-size balls.
So once we've got these balls, what we do is we just, we kind of pull it over and underneath.
And then what I want to do is get a tray, and just put some olive oil on the tray.
Put in the dough.
Cover, and leave to prove for at least six hours.
Or even better, overnight, to give you amazing texture and flavour.
And that is the basis of the most incredible pizza in your home.
The tips to a good dough revealed, I've now got a nifty little trick for you getting that crucial crispy base.
So, in the oven here there's two things.
There's a pizza stone, and there's a chunk of granite.
You can get this from builders' merchants, from garden centres.
You can get it cut to the size of your oven, right? That is obviously going to hold the heat.
Put your oven on full whack, and it's time to tackle those toppings.
Starting with the ultimate Neapolitan classic.
And as far as the Neapolitans are concerned, this is the only pizza.
If you can get it right, then you're in a really good place.
While Gennaro preps the base, I'll let you into a secret of the tomato sauce.
And this is exactly how the official Margherita pizza makers would do this, right? We take really good quality plum tomatoes.
Plum tomatoes are always the A grade.
We're not going to cook it, we're not going to add garlic or herbs, right? We're just going to use our hands and scrunch it, right? Like Nonna, there's no rolling pin here, because we want to protect those springy air bubbles.
Instead, let your hands and gravity gently stretch the dough.
And use your fingers to shape the crust.
Gennaro's going to put about three tablespoons of tomatoes onto the pizza now.
Start from, always from the middle.
Don't overfill.
If you overfill, we come a little bit soggy.
And then we've got some cow's milk mozzarella.
Not buffalo mozzarella.
It's drier, OK? So you want about 70 to 80g.
Add fresh basil, grated Parmesan, a pinch of salt, and the final Neapolitan touch, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
We've got a little board here.
You could use any chopping board, you could use a piece of, like, cardboard.
Rub it with some flour, and then I'm going to hold it like that.
Get a friend to come and just pull it over.
Nice and easy.
Shape it back into that beautiful round.
And he's going to jiggle it about.
And it's really important that you get that jiggle, otherwise it's going to stick.
You got to get your little flip.
Top of the oven, in you go.
Close the door.
Don't open it, don't muck about, don't let the heat out.
OK? We want it just to cook.
It needs about five minutes in the oven, so time to crack on with number two.
The Neapolitans would have me for this, but I can't resist letting you in to my all-time favourite topping.
This is SO good.
You have to give it a go.
My ultimate broccoli, chilli and spicy sausage pizza.
Gennaro's really beautifully blanched some broccoli.
And then you fry it in a pan of olive oil, garlic, crushed olives and a little chilli and sausage meat, right? Imagine those flavours.
But be careful not to overload your pizza, or you won't get that crispy base.
Mozzarella, or provolone? What do you prefer? Well, we use a little bit of provolone on this one.
Provolone cheese has a smoky flavour and a melt that will ooze right across the pizza.
If you can't get provolone, just use a little bit of mozzarella.
Oh, my God, this is going to taste so good.
In we go.
Fantastico! MUSIC: Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano by Renato Carosone My two mouthwatering home-made pizzas with the classic Neapolitan thin base.
A crispy crust, and killer toppings.
A beautiful Margherita.
Mmm! So simple.
You've got those nice big knots of air bubbles, but it's that fine balance between crispy and soggy, and chewy.
Brilliant.
My favourite, the broccoli, chilli, sausage, olive and provolone cheese.
Crisp.
Come on, let's get in there.
That is a fantastic pizza.
Oh! That combination.
You have to try it.
Do you know what? I love it! Delicious.
Coming up, on the magical island of Procida Ciao.
Oh! Look at this! .
.
a seafood celebration.
Buon appetito! And I cook up a knockout Neapolitan seafood supper.
This is real cooking.
Absolutely amazing.
Me and Gennaro are in Naples, seeking out recipes from the city's most incredible cooks.
Today, we're swapping the chaos of this fiery metropolis for a slice of island life.
Stretch, and breathe.
Stretch.
Breathe in! Ah! Me and Gennaro are going to a little island called Procida, which is only like half an hour, 40 minutes away.
It's where all the locals go for sort of a pilgrimage for the best seafood in the bay.
Shall I put the glasses on? Yeah, put the glasses on.
Come on, we're in Italy now.
We've got to up our game a little bit.
Shall we? Yeah, let's go.
Let's go.
My God, what a lovely The breathtaking pastel-painted island of Procida is a haven of serenity for strung-out Neapolitans.
Its seafood is said to be like nowhere else.
And we're here on the one day of the year when locals gather to showcase their cherished family recipes.
Look at this.
This is unbelievable.
I want to see what secrets I can learn from the locals, who have fished and cooked here their whole lives.
This is like my idea of heaven.
So, thankfully, we're going to get a lovely little masterclass in the cooking of the island.
The nonnas, and some old boy nonnos, are rustling up the morning's haul in the way only these islanders know how.
Ciao.
Ooh, look at this.
IN ITALIAN: OK.
See, on these islands, for whatever reason, the herbs, and the oils and the smell is so intense and incredible.
Anchovies, laced with mint and oregano.
This has got to be a winner.
Oh, my God.
Eh? Wonderful.
The island's most famous resident is 60-year-old Nonna Maria.
Piacere, Jamie.
Piacere, Maria.
Ciao.
She's Procida's only fisherwoman, and when it comes to cooking, she's numero uno.
Wonderful combination.
Never, ever heard or seen of it before.
Nonna Maria fries onions and courgettes in olive oil.
Then adds locally caught palamita, from the tuna family.
What I love about this is the combination of the courgettes grated with the beautiful tuna.
The colours work so beautiful together.
Again, it's a sort of, the pale, the green and the red.
Nonna adds fettucini and loads it with toasted, crushed almonds.
Often on the islands, and often in the south of Italy, you'll see nuts used in pastas.
Chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts.
But you know, here is the almond tree - oh! Fantastico, my darling.
Really, really good.
Ho-ho-ho-ho! Oh, my goodness me! Mm! It's so good.
What's really interesting, the toasted almonds just lift the whole dish.
Sweet tomatoes, such a joy to eat.
Such a joy.
This recipe's unbelievable.
After so many years, I can still learn cooking.
Buonissima.
I can learn so much from the locals here, who have been cooking up their catch for generations.
I can't wait to see the show-stopping centrepiece.
It's Nonno Francesco's twist on the classic Neapolitan dish, acqua pazza.
Fish poached in what they call "crazy water".
It's just got the seaside written all over it.
I love how nothing is wasted.
And the star of the dish is actually the cooking water, the acqua pazza.
What an incredible flavour.
It's so delicious.
Oh, my God! That's it.
He's gone in with the bread.
I'm going to go in there, you go in as well.
I'm going in there as well.
It's a bit like dunking digestive biscuits in tea, right? You just let them soften up.
Mm! Oh, Jamie! Very simple, fragrant ingredients, and just a nice big pan and a lot of love.
Francesco, buonissimo.
Grazie mille.
# We're happy in my In my blue heaven.
These amazing dishes have been a revelation.
And I love how the locals turn simple seafood into something super tasty.
I can't wait to have a go at my own seafood show-stopper.
So, me and Gennaro, we're going to cook a fantastic fish dish.
It's called acqua pazza.
Crazy water! My acqua pazza is a two-in-one meal.
Delicate, fragrant fish, and that magical broth they call "crazy water".
We're going to cook a whole round fish.
I think this is something that people often are really, really nervous to cook, so we're going to teach you how to cook it beautifully, so it's succulent and gorgeous, and you can apply it to any round fish.
So we've got beautiful royal bream today.
Called royal bream, cos it's got a little crown around its head like that.
So, what's going to happen is, Gennaro is going to scale and gut the fish, right.
He's going to go down to the water to do that.
I'll start prepping the veg.
You can ask your fishmonger to do this for you.
So we're going to put a pan on the heat.
High heat, right? Remember, acqua pazza - crazy water.
It's not going to gently poach, it's going to thunder away, OK? I've got some fennel here.
Just like Nonno Francesco, my crazy water starts with a base of fragrant veg.
And I'm going to cut these veggies so that they cook in the same time it takes to cook that fish, which is about ten minutes.
I'm whacking in tomatoes, onions, garlic, chilli, and juicy olives.
And the olives, I'm just going to squash.
I think people always think you want the olives for their flesh, but actually it's their perfume and their seasoning that we really want.
Let that beautiful veg sizzle nicely in hot olive oil.
Come on, Gennar! I'm coming, oh! We're going to go in with the tomatoes, the olives, and the garlic like this.
You just toss that, Gennar.
Yeah, let me just toss it.
OK.
Oh, my God! So, look, with the fish, something I like to do is just lightly score it, about a centimetre and a half apart.
Why do we do this? It helps the heat penetrate the fish.
It helps the flavour penetrate the fish.
And it looks beautiful.
So lay the fish in like that.
Look at that.
I might just take some fennel and put it into the cavity.
And then we're going to go in with white wine until Gennaro says stop.
Go, go, go, go! Enough! Bring that to the boil, chuck in a centimetre of water, and more herbs.
Gorgeous parsley.
Oh, my God, this is going to be so good.
It's going to taste delicious.
What's also incredible about this acqua pazza, crazy water, is everything gives to everything, right? The fish gives to the vegetables, the vegetables give to the fish.
Everything gives to the juice.
You have to get lovely fresh fish.
If you make this with not fresh fish, it's no good.
It's no good for anyone.
Forget about it.
Forget about it.
Ten minutes in the pan, and my crazy fish should be cooked to perfection.
Let me just show you how to check if the fish is cooked.
Come, come.
So go to the thickest part of the fish, which is always up near the head.
If that flesh comes away from the bone, you're done.
Don't cook it any more.
Blow, because it's too hot.
The flavour, the depth of flavour's phenomenal.
You would never achieve that with a fillet of fish, right? This is real cooking.
This is absolutely amazing.
I just love this dish.
Oh, my gosh! And then top it off with a little flourish of lemon zest, chopped parsley and fennel leaves.
Acqua pazza, such a beautiful thing.
My deliciously succulent royal bream, bathed in that fragrant, colourful broth of crazy water.
Come on! Oh, my God! Gennaro, shall we go and sit down, and enjoy this? I got it.
Oh! Come on.
Let's do it.
Let's go.
The Bay of Naples is full of hardworking nonnas and nonnos, creating some of the most inspirational food.
The juices are so good.
All I want to do is dunk some bread in that.
I just love it.
From the island haven of Procida, to the sprawling Neapolitan metropolis, I've uncovered some fantastic recipes that capture the spirit of this extraordinary region.
Woohoo! Next time Look at the view! .
.
we hunt down the undiscovered gems of southern Italy.
Smells incredible.
I give the classic Sunday roast an Italian makeover.
It's going to be amazing.
Ho-ho-ho! And learn the secrets of perfect pasta from a ninja nonna.
Hallelujah!
Look how busy it is.
I love it.
The landscapes, the people, the history.
It's unbelievable.
And, of course, the most amazing food.
Oh! I'm just having a moment.
I love it, and I always have done.
This is like my idea of heaven.
Great food here isn't about Michelin-starred chefs, it's about home-cooked recipes.
So in this series, I'm going right to the heart of Italian cooking Ohh! Ooh! So good.
.
.
to the mamas and the nonnas of Italy.
These are some of the best home-cooked recipes in the world.
They've perfected recipes handed down over generations.
I'm just doing what I'm told.
I love it.
I'm travelling far and wide to see what secrets I can learn from these true masters of the kitchen.
That is a game-changer.
And I'll be showing you how to cook up delicious Italian dishes With flavour like this, you're going to go nuts.
.
.
that use the nonnas' way to transform the simple into the sublime.
I'm going to have to stop myself eating.
It's so good.
I am so excited! Me and my mate and mentor, Gennaro Contaldo, are in Naples to uncover the secrets of this fiery city's ancient recipes.
Mamma mia! You have to drive with conviction, cos these guys are nutters.
I know.
Everyone, the drivers, the scooters, the people, they're all completely crazy.
Shadowed by the volatile Mount Vesuvius, Naples has a fearsome reputation.
It's a colourful city, with food to match.
From seafood, fresh out of the bay, to its sensational street food snacks.
The food's going to be amazing.
The pastas, the seafood, the shellfish.
What else? The pizza.
Pizza! Pizza! Naples is the South's largest metropolis, and the undisputed pizza capital of the world.
Look, wherever you look, it's food, food, food! I want to find out the secrets of the true Neapolitan pizza.
And Gennaro's taking me to where this legendary street food was born, the gritty Spanish Quarter.
If you look at anything near climbing distance, there's bars over everything.
In the past, these streets would have been full of nonnas, selling the forerunner to the city's famous takeaway.
We all know the pizza from the oven, right? Um, but actually, predating that was pizza fritta, like the ultimate sort of street food.
The true Neapolitan pizza.
Gennaro's heard about one nonna who's still making pizza here the old-fashioned way.
Buongiorno.
Buongiorno.
And I can't wait to see how she makes it.
Hey! That's the pizza fritta.
Ciao! Buongiorno! Buongiorno.
79-year-old Nonna Fernanda is a local legend.
She's been cooking up her pizza fritta on the same spot since she was a girl.
And you only survive here with feisty Neapolitan ways.
Pizza fritta.
Look at that.
That's pizza fritta.
This is so far away from what most people around the world think a pizza is.
These days, pizza fritta is a cheap, on-the-go snack.
But Nonna still prides herself on making the best dough in town.
She uses a fine grain of flour, called Tipo 00.
Yeast, water and a pinch of salt.
Use my fingers.
In Naples, it's a sin to use a rolling pin.
And when it comes to technique, it's Nonna's way or no way.
I'm a little bit scared but I'm going with it, OK.
Nonna's even more strict about the filling.
Ah, interesting.
Pork scratchings.
OK, scusi.
No.
Too much.
So, pork scratchings, which are going to be delicious.
And then crushed tomatoes.
Not like this? OK.
So it's basically like a kind of pizza ravioli, a calzone, you know? Nonna flash fries her pizza until the filling is melted and delicious .
.
and the outside is puffy, golden and crisp.
She's brilliant.
Proper feisty.
She's been doing it so long.
You have to kind of go back hundreds of years to remember that actually, having an oven and fuelling it with wood, would be, you know, much more expensive than just boiling fat.
Really? Yeah.
And your mamma cooked these? La mamma, si.
Yeah.
Really? 10 kids? Clearly! I've got five.
Finito? OK.
It's amazing to think that Nonna's entire family lived here in this one room, frying up the city's first fast food to make ends meet.
Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, melting cheese.
You kind of know it's going to be good.
Where to start? Grazie.
Gennaro, what do you think? This is delicious.
I love it.
Mmm! The blend of ricotta and mozzarella and the pork scratchings, tomatoes is so good.
What's amazing is the recipe hasn't changed in 100 years.
Delizioso.
Grazie mille.
Ciao, Fernanda! Ciao! Ciao, ciao! Grazie! My God, it's good.
Nonna's age-old pizza fritta is the ultimate indulgent street food.
It's fast, fresh and flippin' tasty.
Nonna Fernanda's really inspired me to show you how to make the most amazing pizza at home.
So I'm bringing it back to the oven-baked classic.
My simple pizza recipe will help you deliver restaurant quality from your very own kitchen.
And just like Nonna Fernanda's, the first step to success is the dough.
So this is a really good Neapolitan-style pizza base recipe.
It's going to look after you.
It's really reliable, it's solid, it works every single time.
So to start the dough, we're going to go in with 700ml of water.
Make sure the water is at room temperature, and add 10g of salt.
Then we're going to go in with just a little handful of flour.
It starts to turn it into a little bit of a batter, so there's a few rules to the best pizza you can make at home.
The flour is Tipo 00 - it means very fine, OK? And it's strong flour.
Now, we're going to go in with 10g of yeast.
If you can't get fresh yeast, use a 7g sachet of the dried stuff.
And that's going to give you a little bit of rise, OK? Add the rest of the kilo bag of flour.
This will make enough for six large pizzas.
It'll get thicker and thicker.
Once it's mixed into a smooth paste, pop it onto a floured worktop, and start the all-important kneading process.
So, this 20 minutes' kneading is an investment, and that's going to hold the air, and when it gets cooked, that's what's going to give you that crispiness and that sponginess, right? Cover and rest for another 20 minutes.
Roll into a sausage, and divide into six fist-size balls.
So once we've got these balls, what we do is we just, we kind of pull it over and underneath.
And then what I want to do is get a tray, and just put some olive oil on the tray.
Put in the dough.
Cover, and leave to prove for at least six hours.
Or even better, overnight, to give you amazing texture and flavour.
And that is the basis of the most incredible pizza in your home.
The tips to a good dough revealed, I've now got a nifty little trick for you getting that crucial crispy base.
So, in the oven here there's two things.
There's a pizza stone, and there's a chunk of granite.
You can get this from builders' merchants, from garden centres.
You can get it cut to the size of your oven, right? That is obviously going to hold the heat.
Put your oven on full whack, and it's time to tackle those toppings.
Starting with the ultimate Neapolitan classic.
And as far as the Neapolitans are concerned, this is the only pizza.
If you can get it right, then you're in a really good place.
While Gennaro preps the base, I'll let you into a secret of the tomato sauce.
And this is exactly how the official Margherita pizza makers would do this, right? We take really good quality plum tomatoes.
Plum tomatoes are always the A grade.
We're not going to cook it, we're not going to add garlic or herbs, right? We're just going to use our hands and scrunch it, right? Like Nonna, there's no rolling pin here, because we want to protect those springy air bubbles.
Instead, let your hands and gravity gently stretch the dough.
And use your fingers to shape the crust.
Gennaro's going to put about three tablespoons of tomatoes onto the pizza now.
Start from, always from the middle.
Don't overfill.
If you overfill, we come a little bit soggy.
And then we've got some cow's milk mozzarella.
Not buffalo mozzarella.
It's drier, OK? So you want about 70 to 80g.
Add fresh basil, grated Parmesan, a pinch of salt, and the final Neapolitan touch, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
We've got a little board here.
You could use any chopping board, you could use a piece of, like, cardboard.
Rub it with some flour, and then I'm going to hold it like that.
Get a friend to come and just pull it over.
Nice and easy.
Shape it back into that beautiful round.
And he's going to jiggle it about.
And it's really important that you get that jiggle, otherwise it's going to stick.
You got to get your little flip.
Top of the oven, in you go.
Close the door.
Don't open it, don't muck about, don't let the heat out.
OK? We want it just to cook.
It needs about five minutes in the oven, so time to crack on with number two.
The Neapolitans would have me for this, but I can't resist letting you in to my all-time favourite topping.
This is SO good.
You have to give it a go.
My ultimate broccoli, chilli and spicy sausage pizza.
Gennaro's really beautifully blanched some broccoli.
And then you fry it in a pan of olive oil, garlic, crushed olives and a little chilli and sausage meat, right? Imagine those flavours.
But be careful not to overload your pizza, or you won't get that crispy base.
Mozzarella, or provolone? What do you prefer? Well, we use a little bit of provolone on this one.
Provolone cheese has a smoky flavour and a melt that will ooze right across the pizza.
If you can't get provolone, just use a little bit of mozzarella.
Oh, my God, this is going to taste so good.
In we go.
Fantastico! MUSIC: Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano by Renato Carosone My two mouthwatering home-made pizzas with the classic Neapolitan thin base.
A crispy crust, and killer toppings.
A beautiful Margherita.
Mmm! So simple.
You've got those nice big knots of air bubbles, but it's that fine balance between crispy and soggy, and chewy.
Brilliant.
My favourite, the broccoli, chilli, sausage, olive and provolone cheese.
Crisp.
Come on, let's get in there.
That is a fantastic pizza.
Oh! That combination.
You have to try it.
Do you know what? I love it! Delicious.
Coming up, on the magical island of Procida Ciao.
Oh! Look at this! .
.
a seafood celebration.
Buon appetito! And I cook up a knockout Neapolitan seafood supper.
This is real cooking.
Absolutely amazing.
Me and Gennaro are in Naples, seeking out recipes from the city's most incredible cooks.
Today, we're swapping the chaos of this fiery metropolis for a slice of island life.
Stretch, and breathe.
Stretch.
Breathe in! Ah! Me and Gennaro are going to a little island called Procida, which is only like half an hour, 40 minutes away.
It's where all the locals go for sort of a pilgrimage for the best seafood in the bay.
Shall I put the glasses on? Yeah, put the glasses on.
Come on, we're in Italy now.
We've got to up our game a little bit.
Shall we? Yeah, let's go.
Let's go.
My God, what a lovely The breathtaking pastel-painted island of Procida is a haven of serenity for strung-out Neapolitans.
Its seafood is said to be like nowhere else.
And we're here on the one day of the year when locals gather to showcase their cherished family recipes.
Look at this.
This is unbelievable.
I want to see what secrets I can learn from the locals, who have fished and cooked here their whole lives.
This is like my idea of heaven.
So, thankfully, we're going to get a lovely little masterclass in the cooking of the island.
The nonnas, and some old boy nonnos, are rustling up the morning's haul in the way only these islanders know how.
Ciao.
Ooh, look at this.
IN ITALIAN: OK.
See, on these islands, for whatever reason, the herbs, and the oils and the smell is so intense and incredible.
Anchovies, laced with mint and oregano.
This has got to be a winner.
Oh, my God.
Eh? Wonderful.
The island's most famous resident is 60-year-old Nonna Maria.
Piacere, Jamie.
Piacere, Maria.
Ciao.
She's Procida's only fisherwoman, and when it comes to cooking, she's numero uno.
Wonderful combination.
Never, ever heard or seen of it before.
Nonna Maria fries onions and courgettes in olive oil.
Then adds locally caught palamita, from the tuna family.
What I love about this is the combination of the courgettes grated with the beautiful tuna.
The colours work so beautiful together.
Again, it's a sort of, the pale, the green and the red.
Nonna adds fettucini and loads it with toasted, crushed almonds.
Often on the islands, and often in the south of Italy, you'll see nuts used in pastas.
Chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts.
But you know, here is the almond tree - oh! Fantastico, my darling.
Really, really good.
Ho-ho-ho-ho! Oh, my goodness me! Mm! It's so good.
What's really interesting, the toasted almonds just lift the whole dish.
Sweet tomatoes, such a joy to eat.
Such a joy.
This recipe's unbelievable.
After so many years, I can still learn cooking.
Buonissima.
I can learn so much from the locals here, who have been cooking up their catch for generations.
I can't wait to see the show-stopping centrepiece.
It's Nonno Francesco's twist on the classic Neapolitan dish, acqua pazza.
Fish poached in what they call "crazy water".
It's just got the seaside written all over it.
I love how nothing is wasted.
And the star of the dish is actually the cooking water, the acqua pazza.
What an incredible flavour.
It's so delicious.
Oh, my God! That's it.
He's gone in with the bread.
I'm going to go in there, you go in as well.
I'm going in there as well.
It's a bit like dunking digestive biscuits in tea, right? You just let them soften up.
Mm! Oh, Jamie! Very simple, fragrant ingredients, and just a nice big pan and a lot of love.
Francesco, buonissimo.
Grazie mille.
# We're happy in my In my blue heaven.
These amazing dishes have been a revelation.
And I love how the locals turn simple seafood into something super tasty.
I can't wait to have a go at my own seafood show-stopper.
So, me and Gennaro, we're going to cook a fantastic fish dish.
It's called acqua pazza.
Crazy water! My acqua pazza is a two-in-one meal.
Delicate, fragrant fish, and that magical broth they call "crazy water".
We're going to cook a whole round fish.
I think this is something that people often are really, really nervous to cook, so we're going to teach you how to cook it beautifully, so it's succulent and gorgeous, and you can apply it to any round fish.
So we've got beautiful royal bream today.
Called royal bream, cos it's got a little crown around its head like that.
So, what's going to happen is, Gennaro is going to scale and gut the fish, right.
He's going to go down to the water to do that.
I'll start prepping the veg.
You can ask your fishmonger to do this for you.
So we're going to put a pan on the heat.
High heat, right? Remember, acqua pazza - crazy water.
It's not going to gently poach, it's going to thunder away, OK? I've got some fennel here.
Just like Nonno Francesco, my crazy water starts with a base of fragrant veg.
And I'm going to cut these veggies so that they cook in the same time it takes to cook that fish, which is about ten minutes.
I'm whacking in tomatoes, onions, garlic, chilli, and juicy olives.
And the olives, I'm just going to squash.
I think people always think you want the olives for their flesh, but actually it's their perfume and their seasoning that we really want.
Let that beautiful veg sizzle nicely in hot olive oil.
Come on, Gennar! I'm coming, oh! We're going to go in with the tomatoes, the olives, and the garlic like this.
You just toss that, Gennar.
Yeah, let me just toss it.
OK.
Oh, my God! So, look, with the fish, something I like to do is just lightly score it, about a centimetre and a half apart.
Why do we do this? It helps the heat penetrate the fish.
It helps the flavour penetrate the fish.
And it looks beautiful.
So lay the fish in like that.
Look at that.
I might just take some fennel and put it into the cavity.
And then we're going to go in with white wine until Gennaro says stop.
Go, go, go, go! Enough! Bring that to the boil, chuck in a centimetre of water, and more herbs.
Gorgeous parsley.
Oh, my God, this is going to be so good.
It's going to taste delicious.
What's also incredible about this acqua pazza, crazy water, is everything gives to everything, right? The fish gives to the vegetables, the vegetables give to the fish.
Everything gives to the juice.
You have to get lovely fresh fish.
If you make this with not fresh fish, it's no good.
It's no good for anyone.
Forget about it.
Forget about it.
Ten minutes in the pan, and my crazy fish should be cooked to perfection.
Let me just show you how to check if the fish is cooked.
Come, come.
So go to the thickest part of the fish, which is always up near the head.
If that flesh comes away from the bone, you're done.
Don't cook it any more.
Blow, because it's too hot.
The flavour, the depth of flavour's phenomenal.
You would never achieve that with a fillet of fish, right? This is real cooking.
This is absolutely amazing.
I just love this dish.
Oh, my gosh! And then top it off with a little flourish of lemon zest, chopped parsley and fennel leaves.
Acqua pazza, such a beautiful thing.
My deliciously succulent royal bream, bathed in that fragrant, colourful broth of crazy water.
Come on! Oh, my God! Gennaro, shall we go and sit down, and enjoy this? I got it.
Oh! Come on.
Let's do it.
Let's go.
The Bay of Naples is full of hardworking nonnas and nonnos, creating some of the most inspirational food.
The juices are so good.
All I want to do is dunk some bread in that.
I just love it.
From the island haven of Procida, to the sprawling Neapolitan metropolis, I've uncovered some fantastic recipes that capture the spirit of this extraordinary region.
Woohoo! Next time Look at the view! .
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we hunt down the undiscovered gems of southern Italy.
Smells incredible.
I give the classic Sunday roast an Italian makeover.
It's going to be amazing.
Ho-ho-ho! And learn the secrets of perfect pasta from a ninja nonna.
Hallelujah!