Sophia Loren's Recipes and Memories (2024)

Sophia Loren's Recipes and Memories
by
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren Recettes & Souvenirs
Translated by Anne Lavedrine

1998

Just starting but the actual book that I am perusing is in French! My notes and thoughts will remain in English (mostly)
First impression is that this book is authentic. It feels, looks and if you follow the ingredients – should taste – Italian. Give it a go!
Sophia is gorgeous – but then, you knew that!
And as the book warns – never be a slave to the recipes, try, taste, modify, incorporate local ingredients, use family favourites, wonder out loud, share, listen and (my advice) look at the plates – not only upon presentation, but at the end of the meal to see what people ate and what they left behind. Matters might say one thing, but palates say another!
Notes:
Can it be Italian without Antipasto? Well, yes it can – but nothing says Italian as the combination of antipasto, pizza and pasta!
Time to spruce up Nonna’s cookbook!
7: Fichi al prosciutto
When sliced thin, and properly cured this meat can enhance almost any special meal – use if sparingly and enjoy!
10: When tomato season arrives in your part of the world – just getting there in late July in Montreal – three great summer time dishes are:
1.Mozzarella (fresh or bocconcini or some other fresh Italian cheese) drizzled with olive oil and a little salt (balsamic vinegar is to your taste)
2.Tomato and ____________(pick another vegetable from cucumber, to greens, to peppers, to feta cheese) with a healthy amount of olive oil, salt and herbs of your choice
3.Fried (you can do broiled but not as good) fresh tomatoes in oil olive until the liquid gets cooked off. With some crusty Italian bread it can become a meal
4.Of course you can add olives and spicy chili flakes to make a nice Arrabbiata sauce
5.Chop them up with garlic, salt and olive oil for some Bruschetta
Did you notice that when it comes to food, Italians have trouble counting!
12: follow the recipe for classic Napolitana Pizza and you will forgo PapaJohns forever and ever!
15: Using the same pizza dough recipe, try frying the dough for a delicious snack – pizzelle frita
21: An Omelet? Do not get confused between an omelet and Frittata – do not know the difference? You will once you taste a frittata you are in for a treat!
24: La Panzanella – imagine bread pudding - pudding chomeur – but no eggs, instead tomatoes and olive oil! Now let you imagination go! Great why to use bread that is getting a little crunchy!
28: A section on all types of minestre – soups that can contain pasta, dry vegetables, beans and fresh vegetables, as well as small portions of meats for flavoring.
•More soup in the world would mean less poverty!
31: Zuppa di lenticchie
32: Il minestrone
35: fa*gioli con le Cotiche
37: Minestra di riso, patate, e fabioli
38: Pasta e fa*gioli
40: Minestra di fave
Etcetera…

EN: It is nice that the book gives base recipes and then builds out from there with simple other recipes that can be easily adapted and modified to suit taste, budget and or ingredients.
Some classics are included:
•Risotto alla Milanese – 92
•Penne alla Puttanesca - 76
•Spaghetti con Vongole – 77
•Vitello alla Pizzaiola – 100
•Spezzatino di Vitello – 102
•Saltimbocca – 106
•Polpette di Carne – 111
•Il Carpaccio – 114
•Pollo alla Porchetta – 122
•Le Baccala : Basic rules – 131
•Baccala in Insalata – 132
•La Caponata – 158
•Carciofi alla Romana – 172
•Scarola Riccia – 180
•Banane al Forno – 196
A lovely book – would have enjoyed more pictures – of Sophia and of some of the dishes. Get this book and start your way onto the three kinds of people in this world:
1.Italians
2.People that want to be Italian
3.People that want to be Italian but do not know it yet….

#SophiaLorenRecipes

In Sophia Loren's Recipes and Memories, one of our most beloved actresses presents 100 of favorite Italian family recipes. Sophia has dedicated this book to her grandmother Luisa, with whom she lived in Pozzuoli, the small city near Naples, during World War II. Watching her grandmother turn their humble wartime rations into succulent dishes left a lasting impression on Sophia, and it is this spirit of improvisation that marks the recipes in her new cookbook.Along with Nonna Luisa's specialties, Sophia's recipes come from all over Italy: a wonderful bean soup from Tuscany, Neapolitan pizzas, a risotto from Venice, fish from Sicily and, vegetable preparations from the South. Many of the recipes are variations on the classics, such as Vermicelli alia Sophia (which features her own interpretation of pesto sauce) and Luisa's Minestrone (based on her grandmother's version of the essential vegetable soup). Sophia's love of pasta is well-known, and the book includes a wonderful selection of pasta recipes, as well as dishes of risotto and polenta. Simple antipasti and recipes for meat, poultry, and fish round out this collection. Among the homey desserts are a flourless apple cake and an irresistible ricotta pie.

In addition to the recipes, Sophia shares poignant anecdotes about her Neapolitan childhood and her illustrious filmmaking career. She takes us behind the scenes of some of the many movies she made in Italy with such stars and dear friends as Marcello Mastroianni and Cary Grant and shares the recipes that she discovered on location for various movies. While making Two Women, in the mountains near Rome, she learned to make Spaghetti alla Carbonara from charcoal workers.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

"Sophia Loren's Recipes and Memories" is truly a beautiful book--not just for the legendary beauty of the author, but for the real love of nurturing family and providing comfort and care in the home that it conveys. Filled with gorgeous photos of Sophia Loren, the book also offers scrumptious pictures of the prepared recipes and captivating images from the author's life and film career. Sophia's love of cooking came from observing her grandmother, Nonni Luisa, a naturally intuitive cook who could take a little and make it into a lot--a must during wartime hardship. The 100 recipes include "Antipasti and Small Dishes"; "Soup"; "Pasta"; "Rice & Polenta"; "Meat"; "Fish"; "Vegetables"; and "Desserts". Featured recipes include such delicious dishes as: "Classic Neapolitan Pizza"; "Torta di Asparagi" (Savory Asparagus Pie); "Insalata Ricca" (A Luxurious Salad); "Il Minestrone" (Minestrone Soup); "Pasta e fa*gioli" (Pasta & Beans); "Spaghetti al Limone" (Spaghetti with Lemon); 'Risotto con Piselli" (Risotto with Peas"; "Tonne Fresca con Funghi" (Fresh Tuna with Mushrooms); "Spigola de Natale" (Christmas Bass); "Melanzane alla Parmigiana" (Eggplant Parmesan); and "Torta di Patate" (Potato Pie). Delectable desserts include: "Pan di Spagna" (Sponge Cake); "Torta di Ricotta" (Ricotta Pie); and "Zabaione" (Sweet Marsala Custard). Comfort food, traditional Italian dishes, a fascinating trip through memory lane, and much more are all to be found in "Sophia Loren's Recipes and Memories".

Just lovely. The recipes might not be a revelation, as a whole, though some sound interesting enough. What REALLY earned this book a five-star rating was its tone - written in first person, this book basically sparkles with joy and enjoyment. Just look at her smile on the cover, the whole book reads like this. And it's contagious.

Maybe this whill never be my most-used cookbook, but it definitely will bring a wide smile on my face each time I'll see it on it's spot of honor on my shelf in the kitchen.