Venice by Russell Norman

Last Updated on March 1, 2026

Four seasons of home cooking – Venice by Russell Norman.

Russell Norman is the restaurateur most associated with Venetian cuisine in London, where his restaurants, inspired by the traditional bacari (wine bars in Venice), have served up cicchetti and other delights for many years. His earlier cookbook, Polpo, brought many of these recipes into our kitchens. Norman’s most recent cookbook, Venice (Fig Tree, 2018), is divided into four seasons, which enables readers to cook in a way that has become increasingly popular and sustainable. Venice (the cookbook) arises from Norman’s enduring love affair with the city and his experience of living and cooking in the city for 14 months, discovering Venetian home cooking as opposed to what is cooked by professionals in its restaurants.

The book is divided into four chapters that follow the seasons. Unlike UK supermarkets, where you can buy any vegetable at any point in the year – if you have no qualms about food miles – Norman shopped at the local market, where there is a distinct change in produce throughout the seasons. This is how Venetians cook at home, and he collected recipes from friends, grandmothers, grandfathers and some professional chefs whom he befriended.

Being in the depths of winter when I first came across Venice, I began with that section. Cavolo nero is a vegetable I initially encountered on my travels in Tuscany many decades ago – as Norman points out, that is part of the joy of travel, encountering ingredients and dishes that are new to you. I have loved this member of the kale family ever since and use it often. It is, to my mind, the king of the kale family. It is so versatile – whether in a ribolita, pasta, stir fry or an omelette. I have not previously, however, ever thought to use it to top bruschetta.  I enjoyed these as a light lunch on a working day. So quick to make, healthy and delicious. Norman suggests boiling the leaves in salted water, but I prefer to steam my cavolo nero. To remain true to the recipe, I had a bit of boiling water in the bottom of the pot and steamed/boiled the veg briefly. I had a wonderful sourdough from my local bakery and toasted a couple of slices while the veg cooked. By the time I had run a garlic clove over the toasted bread, the cavolo nero was ready. I anointed it with black pepper and a few slugs of my best extra virgin olive oil. It was a lovely combination of crisp toast with soft veg, and the slight bitterness of the cavolo nero added to the garlic notes, and the peppery, grassy oil was more than the sum of its parts.

Continuing along the winter theme, I made a side dish of grilled radicchio. This is as simple as a recipe can be – slice, toss in olive oil, grill briefly, season and scatter with chopped parsley. The result is a delectable, juicy bitterness. Cooking with radicchio and cavolo nero made me think about how little tolerance many people have for bitter foods and how many of us gravitate to the more palatable flavours of sweet and salty. I enjoy the bitter flavours very much, and they seem very Italian to me. Think Campari or an Aperol Spritz – my favourite one ever was in Venice, sat on the side of the Canale Della Giudecca.

From the Autumn chapter, I chose roasted squash with toasted seeds and sage. Hardly a week goes by that I do not have butternut in my kitchen. I grew up eating this mighty vegetable and roasting it often. I followed Norman’s way of heating up the dish with chilli flakes, which I liked a lot. Combined with the warmth and sweetness of cinnamon and the sage leaves, it made a tasty side dish to a roast chicken.

From the Spring section, I made a light prawn frittata, which was lovely. I have made countless frittatas over the years, but have never used prawns. They looked so pretty and pink poking up through the yellow egg, and the green fronds of dill added to the picture and made me look forward to warmer weather when this dish would be gorgeous with a chilled glass of rosé. The prawns were slightly salty and tasted good with the onions, which had a slight crunch. Definitely one to make again. Norman suggests eating this with a crunchy salad, and I followed his instructions – using shredded baby gems, sliced celery and pumpkin seeds.

Venice is a comprehensive cookbook to keep one busy through the seasons. It is quite meat-heavy, and as I don’t generally eat red meat, I have not been able to make full use of this lovely book. However, there are some terrific recipes from leg of lamb – a great one for Easter lunch – to pork belly, veal saltimbocca and a range of Venetian meatballs. I am looking forward to summer when the tomatoes are ripe, and I can get back to Venice, the cookbook, if not the city, to indulge in the recipes that showcase this humble produce. As Norman emphasises throughout Venice, buy good quality ingredients that are in season and half the work of preparing the meal is done.

You can buy Venice online from Amazon or from other good book retailers.

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