Brutto ma buono – ugly but good. This is the food of Florence – rigorously simple, few ingredients, exceptionally good.

Anchovy with cold butter and sourdough
Penne with tomato and vodka
Sausages with braised lentils and mustard
Roasted squash with borlotti bean and salsa verde
Country-style bread and tomato salad
3-ingredient meringue hazelnut cookies

The food of Florence rests on humble ingredients – not many – brought together in the rough-and-ready style of everyday cooking with flavour at its heart.

This stunning brand-new cookbook offers outstanding recipes from Russell Norman’s acclaimed new restaurant, Trattoria Brutto, alongside an ode to one of Italy’s most beloved cities, Florence, and specifically the bohemian district of Santo Spirito.

Including Russell’s captivating stories and insider advice, Brutto is a proudly fuss-free recipe book to use every day, wherever you are, and an joyous tribute to Italy’s greatest rustic cuisine.

Deliciously simple Venetian dishes from the London restaurant

Waterstones Book of the Year 2012

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Tucked away in a backstreet of London’s edgy Soho district, POLPO is one of the hottest restaurants in town. Critics and food aficionados have been flocking to this understated bàcaro where Russell Norman serves up dishes from the back streets of Venice. A far cry from the tourist-trap eateries of the famous floating city, this kind of cooking is unfussy, innovative and exuberantly delicious.

The 140 recipes in the book include caprese stacks, zucchini shoestring fries, asparagus with Parmesan and anchovy butter, butternut risotto, arancini, rabbit cacciatore, warm duck salad with wet walnuts and beets, crispy baby pizzas with prosciutto and rocket, scallops with lemon and peppermint, mackerel tartare, linguine with clams, whole sea bream, warm octopus salad, soft-shell crab in Parmesan batter with fennel salad, walnut and honey semifreddo, tiramisù, fizzy bellinis and glasses of bright orange spritz.

With luminescent photography by Jenny Zarins, which captures the unfrequented corners, the bustling bàcari and the sublime waterways of Venice, POLPO is a dazzling tribute to Italy’s greatest hidden cuisine.