A southern Italian summer stew of tomatoes and peppers like a ratatouille – serve with pasta, fried eggs or cheese

As I’ve mentioned before, our cooker is a 1972 GasFire Cucina 800. It’s the four-burner version of the five-burner model pictured in Sophia Loren’s book, In the Kitchen with Love, published in 1972, which just happens to be the year I was born, meaning that Sophia and I, our cookers, cooking and books are inextricably linked. However, her larger model had a different arrangement of burners, as well as a protective lip for a thermostat, while mine has a full hinged lid, which protects the wall; being white, it is also a canvas for splatters, meaning Sophia and I are not linked in wiping.

Tomato is the worst, and the best, especially when the sauce is simmering nicely: mostly steady, but every now and then erupting into a burp of a bubble that splatters like a crime scene waiting for pattern analysis. Today, there were also peppers and potatoes in what can only be described as a staggered recipe that demands the lid is on and off, causing fluctuating temperatures that invite splatters. It is worth it, though, for this almost velvety, summer braise, and also because I suggest making a double quantity, half to go with pasta, and the rest with fried eggs or slices of feta.

Not every roast spud or side salad needs a liberal dash of extra virgin to enhance its flavour. There are better and cheaper alternatives, say our experts

If you’re someone who uses olive oil, you’ll have noticed how the price of this “liquid gold” has shot up in the past 12 months. Thanks to extreme heat and drought across the Mediterranean, the average price of a litre bottle increased by 39% in the year to March 2024. One litre of leading mass-market brand Filippo Berio, for example, will now set you back £13.85. Liquid gold, indeed – and a kind of gold that’s become an abundantly administered staple in many of our kitchens. With demand outstripping supply to this extent, the simplest and thriftiest of meals will really start to cost you. Here, cooks explain how to use less olive oil in 10 classic dishes.