Following the success of A House Party in Tuscany and Italian Coastal, Amber Guinness invites you on an artful tour through her beloved Southern Tuscany and favourite pockets of Florence. Winter in Tuscany celebrates the region’s rich culinary and cultural traditions with a quanto basta approach – the intuitive, Italian method of ‘just enough’ – and brings the heart of Tuscany’s cosy autumnal and wintry flavours to your kitchen.

But quanto basta is more than just a philosophy for cooking; it’s a metaphor for life. This book celebrates life in the off-season; an ode to exploring Tuscany’s villages and countryside when the crowds have thinned, allowing for a deeper, more intimate connection with the culture, food and landscapes. In discovering treasures off the beaten path, Amber highlights the richness of exploring at a gentler pace, when Tuscany truly reveals itself.

The book is filled with an array of hyper-local, traditional recipes for the home cook: from antipasti, zuppe – thick, hearty Tuscan soups – and brodo, brothy concoctions that bring comfort on colder days, to rustic pasta, rice and secondi – meat and vegetable mains that celebrate the season.

Whether you’re strolling beneath Della Robbia’s cherubs or simmering a hearty soup on a cold winter’s night, Winter in Tuscany is an invitation to slow down and appreciate the beauty in small moments and big flavours.

‘A magical tastescape from Tuscany to Sicily, with mouth-watering and authentic recipes’ Clodagh McKenna, author and TV chef

An enchanting and delectable journey to the shimmering waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, via plates of pasta, baked fish, and glasses of peach-laced white wine – from the author of A House Party in Tuscany.

Welcome to the Tyrrhenian Sea, home to la dolce vita, sun-drenched islands and seaside towns where even the simplest trattoria has an effortless glamour.

Following on from the success of her first book, A House Party in Tuscany, Amber Guinness travels from the Tuscan coast down through Lazio and Campania via Naples and the Amalfi Coast and on to northern Sicily. Amber delves into the history, stories and flavours that have come home to her kitchen and shaped her food philosophy.

Amber’s quest for maximum flavour with minimal effort shines through in these delicious and achievable recipes that will bring an authentic mouthful of coastal Italy to your table: crostini with ricotta and ‘nduja; zucchini and mint lasagne; tomato linguine with capers; seabass with pistachio and almonds; Neapolitan vinegary fried zucchini; potato and caper salad from Salina; raspberry tiramisu and the ultimate Amalfi lemon cream cake.

Inspired by the markets and food of summer holidays by the beach, Italian Coastal is a fusion of recipe book, travelogue, and memoir – with sumptuous food and travel photography throughout – that will transport readers to the sunny Mediterranean.

‘A peculiar attribute of the landscape surrounding Arniano is the ever-changing light. Early in the morning, there is an extraordinary mist that sits in the valley and interweaves through the hills, allowing just the tops to show above the smoky clouds. These changes bring with them new moods and shadows, drawing our painters to different views and areas of the garden throughout the day. By the evening, everything has altered again, and there are often intense sunsets, bringing silhouettes from the trees and much darker, richer, olive colours.’

There are many farmhouses in Tuscany, but few are quite so magical as Arniano. It is here, in this 18th-century podere, that Amber Guinness grew up and learned to cook. And it is here that she established The Arniano Painting School, a residential painting course and immersive art and food experience.

‘As I look through the recipes and think about the common thread that binds them, I realise that they all exemplify a fundamental principle of Italian home cooking. Which is that simplicity – and keeping ingredients as close to their original form as possible – leads to the most delicious and rewarding food. The beauty of Italian cooking is that it is not about fancy sauces or preparation techniques. Rather, it is about bringing out the best in what you are cooking, through patience, constant tasting and the development of flavour – sometimes using nothing but some olive oil and salt.’

Filled with recipes for classic dishes and cocktails, feast curation, seasonal menu suggestions and notes on an Italian pantry and wines, A House Party in Tuscany will transport you to the Tuscan countryside and bring the conviviality of Arniano to your table.