Gnocchi alla Loren: from when the mamma nazionale shared her recipe book
sophia loren , national treasure for Italy, world heritage for the rest, Vesuvius of beauty for the 50's press and force of nature Vittorio De Sica , returns to the screens after ten years of absence after Nine , in 2009. The lucky title? La vita davanti I know , an adaptation of the novel by Roman Gary La vie devant soi (it was already made into a movie as madam rose, Oscar for Best Foreign Film of 1978 ). The distribution rights to the tape, found at post production phase , are owned by Netflix, which will release it worldwide before 2021 . The director is none other than his son, Edward Ponti , author signed the last feature of him as protagonist, Among Strangers , from 2002.
"I could not be more delighted to be working with Netflix on such a special film," explained the actress in a statement collected by Variety: "Throughout my career, I have worked with the biggest studios," she continued, "but I can say sure that none of them had the level of reach and cultural diversity that Netflix has That's what I love about them." The story of Madame Rosa is that of an elderly Jewish Holocaust survivor who takes care of the children of prostitutes in the marginal neighborhood where they reside in Paris. She develops a special relationship with a twelve-year-old Senegalese boy, mixture of friendship, mutual protection, camaraderie and maternal instinct.
It was precisely motherhood, more specifically a risky pregnancy (but not Edoardo's, but that of her eldest son, Carlo Ponti Jr.) that triggered the actress to write in 1968 one of the most valuable objects for any fan of Sophia Loren, of good eating or exquisitely edited books , that is, for any lover of beauty, for anyone who is alive.
This is the recipe book rizzoli would post in the early 1970s: In the kitchen with love (the English version) In Cucina con Amore (the Italian version). In Spain it was called Me at the kitchen and there were two highly sought-after editions today ( the one of 1973 of the Circle of readers and the one of 1980 of Noguer ). highly sought after because they contain precious and unknown photos of the actress in several of her residences cooking, in the garden , lighting the candles on a table baroquely decorated and/or simply being so beautiful that she can cause Stendhal syndrome.
baroque you
But above all, there are recipes , dozens and dozens, between hors d'oeuvres, pasta, meats, pizzas, 'minestre' and, of course, 'dolci'. Here are the flavors she experimented with while she was confined (What does that sound like to us?) Because of her pregnancy; the dishes that marked his childhood in Naples and his adolescence in rome and the advice she asked the cooks on all her trips. Everything Sophia knew or thought about etiquette and protocol , on what wines to serve and how , on whether a guest could be allowed to smoke, about the advisability or not of husbands stepping on the kitchen (let's remember, please, the end of the 60's) and, above all, cooking. Because she knew a lot. You could spend a year on this book and still be short on time (and not just because of the 'mamma' hypnotics). We have selected only three dishes from more than 200 so that your guests will freak out with you ieri, oggi and domani.
Although Sophia Loren never actually said that she owed her anatomy to spaghetti, she does have a pretty categorical statement in her cookbook: “Let me say one thing that may be daring and may annoy my countrymen: pizza, the famous pizza, is Neapolitan, without question ”. That is why the chapter dedicated to this universal Neapolitan dish contains all the secrets of the dough and, therefore, we strongly recommend reading it. That is why we have composed a menu with dishes whose engineering is less complicated , so you can prepare them at your next party.
FRIGGIONE
“A large pan of vegetables, it is a dish that is honored throughout Italy ”, explains the gastronomic cicerone about the 'friggione', the name by which it is known in Emily , where she learned this recipe that does not adjust certain amounts, as long as you put everything. Add at the end the Loren that the recipe admits a tasty variation: add fresh sausage.
PRESCRIPTION “Put plenty of olive oil in the pan; Red green yellow peppers cut into strips are fried, then onion cut not too finely is added. When the onion begins to brown, add a few diced tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and complete the cooking in such a way that the different vegetables are tasty, but do not become too soft so that they retain their original flavor”.
GREEN GNOCCHI
Sophia Loren dedicates even more pages to the didactics of the correct preparation and cooking of the 'pastaciutta' than to the pizzas. So we send you to the book or to your trusted Italian ‘dealer’ to have the perfect gnocchi , that Sophia is in charge of dressing them.
PRESCRIPTION. “Wash, boil and carefully drain a pound of spinach. Pass them through the pan with a tablespoon of oil and a crushed clove of garlic . When they have acquired flavour, carve them apart from the garlic and join two whole eggs and 150g grated Parma cheese . With this paste, make several rolls and cut the rolls into strips of 2 to 3 cm; cook them in plenty of salted water, they will be ready as soon as they rise to the surface, they are eaten seasoned with melted butter and plenty of grated Parma cheese”.
BOCCONOTTI
Of the more than 20 sweets that Sophia Loren shares in her book, we chose this one because it is versatile, It is used for breakfast, as a dessert and to accompany coffee or tea. . In addition, it has its emotional charge: “it belongs to the inexhaustible pantry of my Naples and of Southern Italy”, explains the winner of two Oscars.
PRESCRIPTION. “You have to make a sheet of sweet dough with half a kilo of flour, 5 grams of sugar and the necessary water to obtain a soft but consistent dough (some people add two or three tablespoons of oil). The leaf is spread thin, but not excessively, and is divided into disks of about 6 to 8 cm. A nut of quince raspberry jam is placed on each disk (it can also be jam and pastry cream in equal parts), the edges are folded and flattened to obtain half moons. Eventually, they are brushed with beaten egg yolk and baked for 20 minutes.”.
'In the kitchen with love', with Sophia Loren