The Naked Chef.

My beautiful mother with her parents and younger brother on a rare trip to the seaside.

Seventeen years ago the BBC aired the first episode of the Naked Chef and thus our relationship with Jamie Oliver began. Jamie's mentor was the wonderful Gennaro Contaldo who happened to be my mother's favourite chef, she bought me his cookbook, Passione, The Italian Cookbook, thirteen years ago and I still refer to it regularly.

              Jamie Oliver, the Naked Chef. Working with Gennaro Contaldo, bottom left

Jamie was hugely inspired by Gennaro and went on to write his own cookbook, Jamie's Italy. Whilst travelling around compiling recipes for his cookbook, Jamie really got a feel for why the country has retained its amazing food culture, traditions and family values. He wrote: 'I think Italy has managed to retain a lot of its brilliant things because there hasn't been a lot of choice available. For me this creates quite a profound emotion because sometimes when you have too much choice you can lose sight of the things that really matter - your family, your kids, your health.'

These sentiments echo my own entirely, I remember fondly all the family gatherings of my childhood where my mother and nonna prepared humble food made with love.

Jamie has been a trailblazer for many culinary ideas and he has initiated many campaigns, not least his 'feed me better' campaign which resulted in the public voting him as the most inspiring political figure of 2005. Jamie recently wrote, 'The biggest luxury in life is the knowledge to cook - and it's free!'

Unfortunately, many forgo or are denied the luxury of learning to cook. This important life skill is way down on our agendas and the national curriculum. Consequently, many young people are being brought up on a toxic diet of junk food which we are beginning to realise is impacting on our health, both physically and mentally.

My mother's signature dish was what we would commonly call spaghetti bolognese, Italians would call it ragu. It wasn't the sloppy stuff so often cooked by us Brits, it was dense and flavoursome and once she'd mixed the spaghetti into the sauce in a big pot, she'd set it aside to be eaten the next day as the flavours would be enhanced.

Whenever my brother or I had been unwell, my mother would make steamed meatballs as they were easy on the stomach. I quite often use this method as a lighter version of the usual rich and heavy ragu/bolognese.

Steamed meatballs

 Mix together 500g outdoor bred, lean minced beef with 2 cloves of crushed garlic (I add a few dried chilli flakes but that's optional) season with salt and pepper to taste. Shape into small balls

 Half fill a pan with water and put it on the hob to boil. Cover with a plate roughly the same size as the pan, add a tablespoon of water to the plate, place the meatballs on the plate and cover. Reduce the heat and steam the meatballs for 30 minutes, turning the meatballs halfway through

 Make your tomato sauce by adding a splash of olive oil to a pan, add a chopped onion and a couple of cloves of chopped garlic and fry until lightly coloured. Add 2 400g tins of good-quality tomatoes, stir then simmer for 30 minutes. Add the steamed meatballs and cook for a further 15 minutes

Combine cooked spaghetti with meatballs and sauce, add a splash of olive oil, season again if necessary.  Serve with lots of grated Parmesan.

'There is such diversity in lifestyles, cooking, traditions and dialects. This is why as a chef I find this country (Italy) so damn exciting. You know what?  I should have been Italian. The truth is, when I'm in Italy I feel Italian.'
- Jamie Oliver.

Love Donna xxxxxx