Pinsa primavera with anchovy

For ➍ 

2 pinsa bottoms

400 g baby spinach

1 clove garlic

140 g green pesto

125 g marinated artichoke hearts

50 g anchovy fillet

250 g mozzarella

2 tbs dried oregano

spicy olive oil

nutmeg

salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to the highest setting. Rinse the spinach and drain well. Peel and chop the garlic. Stew the garlic and spinach in a pan with olive oil, season with pepper, salt and nutmeg. Scoop them out of the pan and drain well in a colander. Press out all the liquid with the rounded side of a spoon.

Drain the anchovies and artichoke hearts. Halve the artichoke hearts. Spread a layer of pesto on the pinsa bases and spoon the spinach in heaps on top. Finish them off with the halved artichoke hearts and anchovy fillets. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and top the pinsas with it. Season the pinsas with the oregano and bake them in the oven for 10 minutes.

Finish the pinsas with a little (spicy) olive oil and the extra spinach. Cut them into pieces and serve.

Caprese skillet eggs

For ➍
2 tbs olive oil
60 g (½ cup) chopped onion
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
½ ts salt
½ ts pepper
4 large eggs
120 g (½ cup) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
5 (¼ cup) mixed chopped fresh basil, oregano & chives*
toasted sliced pane Pugliese or ciabatta

Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 m. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have softened and released their juices, about 5 m.
Use a spoon to make 4 wells in the tomato mixture and crack an egg into each one. Cover pan and cook until whites are firm and yolks are just starting to set, about 2 m.**
Sprinkle with cheese and cover again to melt cheese slightly, about 1 m. Add some freshly baked bacon or ham if wanted.
Sprinkle with herbs and serve with toast.

*Use a mix of basilicum pesto (and fresh basilicum) instead.
**Use poached eggs instead.

Pomodori fritti (fried tomatoes)

For ➍
4 large, slightly underripe (or green) tomatoes
cornmeal
olive oil

Cut the tomatoes in thick slices.*
Roll in the cornmeal.
Have a finger of oul in a pean. Heat.
Fry the tomatoes until crisp and golden.
Drain on a paper towel.
Serve hot with sliced mozzarella and basil leaves.
Or serve as a side dish for grilled fish or meat.
Or serve on a baguette, covered with some mayonnaise and pesto.

*When you got enough time, let the sliced tomatoes rest for 30 m. Dry them with a paper towel. Roll them in flour, then in breadcrumbs. Grease the pan with a paper towel paper with some oil and bake the slices for a slightly lighter dish.
Or cut the tomatoes in half. Let the slices rest upside down for 2 h. Remove the wet inside. Dry the inside. Make a mix of bread crumbs, pepper, chopped parsley, a pinch of salt and oil. Put some capers in the tomato halves. Fill the cavities of the tomatoes with the mixture of breadcrumbs. Fry the tomatoes.

Italian meatloaf

For ➍
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 jar of roasted peppers 300g
20 g parsley
1 mozzarella, 125 g
600 g ground beef, seasoned (oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage)
10 cl milk
3 slices of white bread, without crust
160 g pancetta, sliced

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Chop the onion and chop the garlic.
Let the peppers drip in a colander. Cut into strips.
Chop the parsley. Cut the mozzarella into slices .
Mix the minced meat in a bowl with the onion and garlic. Put the milk in a deep plate and soak the bread in the milk for 2 m. Squeeze out and mix with the meat.
Line the bottom and sides of the cake tin with the pancetta.
Divide the meat on the bottom and spread about half of the pepper, parsley and mozzarella. Make another layer. Spread the rest of the meat on top and close with the pancetta around.
Bake for about 30 m in the middle of the oven until golden brown. Take out, let rest 5 m in the mold. Carefully pour the fat out of the mold.
Cut into slices and serve with salad and baked potatoes.

Pasta all'ammiraglio (tomato pasta salad)

For ➍-➏
500 g ripe plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded & chopped (in the winter you can used drained canned tomatoes)
2 tbs salted or pickled capers, rinsed
5 leaves coarsely torn basil (or to taste)
olive oil (about 5 cl, or to taste)
salt & pepper to taste
500 g penne or other short thick-walled pasta

Cook the pasta until until al dente in lightly salted water, drain it, and cool it by running cold water over the colander.
While you are cooking the pasta, combine the other ingredients, check seasoning, and chill them in a bowl.
When the pasta has cooled, mix it into the sauce. Serve with a rosato wine.

*Add pitted black olives as well.
**Make it a full meal by adding 250 g shredded mozzarella.

Read tip on cooking pasta for a cold salad.
Read more cold pasta salad recipes.

Sophia Loren's omelet Napoletana

For ➍-➑*
150 g spaghetti
50 g unsalted butter
8 large eggs
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs whole milk
⅛ ts freshly grated nutmeg
¼ ts salt
¼ ts black pepper
75 g ham, cut into 0.5 cm dice
50 g fresh mozzarella, cut into 0.5 cm dice
10 g finely grated Parmigiano cheese

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well in a colander, then return to pot and immediately toss with 2 tbs butter.

Lightly whisk together eggs, oil, milk, nutmeg, salt, pepper, ham and mozzarella in a bowl.

Preheat broiler.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Cook egg mixture, lifting up cooked edges with a heatproof spatula to let raw egg flow underneath, until set on bottom and almost set but still moist on top, 3 to 5 m. Arrange spaghetti over eggs, pressing lightly with spatula to help pasta settle into eggs, then sprinkle with Parmigiano.

Broil omelet 10 to 15 cm from heat until top is pale golden, 2 to 3 m.

Cut into portions. Serve immediately. Add some tomato sauce if wanted.

*4 as main course, 8 as starter.

This recipe comes close to a frittata, the Italian oven finished omelet. Read more Sophia Loren recipes & history: tiramisu, vermicelli with sauce or spaghetti. Picture shows her as a Naples' Materdei neighbourhood pizza maker in Vittorio di Sica's “L’Oro di Napoli”.

Mozzarella bruschetta

For ➊
fennel & zucchini mint salad
1 thick slice sourdough bread
1 garlic clove, peeled, cut in half
125 g buffalo mozzarella

Heat a griddle pan over a high heat until smoking hot.

Toast the bread well on both sides for 2-3 m. Remove from the pan and place on a plate.

Rub the chargrilled sourdough bread with the cut side of the garlic and drizzle over another tablespoon of olive oil.

Tear the mozzarella in half and place onto the toasted bread.

Pile the fennel and zucchini mint salad on top. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil. Scatter over the torn fennel stems.

Lemon pasta with mozzarella & sea spinach

For ➍
75 ml extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
150 grams of sea spinach, washed & dried
grated rind of 2 lemons,
juice of 1 lemon
salt & freshly ground pepper
500 g of (lemon) pasta
2 balls buffalo mozzarella, torn into pieces
50 g Parmigiano cheese, coarsely grated

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the garlic gently until golden brown.

Remove the garlic from the pan. Stir fry the sea spinach a few m.

Remove from heat. Stir in the garlic slices, lemon juice and lemon zest mixture. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Cook the pasta until tender, cold rinse. Mix with sea spinach mixture and mozzarella.

Serve in deep soup plates. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmigiano.

Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce.

Antipasti pasta salad

For ➏
1 or 2 tbs red wine vinegar (or lemon juice)
4 tbs olive oil
500 g rotini or other small ridged pasta, freshly cooked to tender, rinsed under cold water, & drained
1 jar marinated artichokes, drained & chopped
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained & cut into 0.5 cm thick strips (or freshly roasted peppers)
250 g mozzarella, cut into 1.5 cm cubes
250 g thinly sliced sweet soppressata or salami, cut into 2.5 cm pieces*
100 g brine-cured black olives, pitted & chopped
a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Whisk together red wine vinegar and olive oil in a large bowl.Add remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve at room temperature.

*Use 300 g Italian sausage, cut in 1,5 cm cubes before braisng slowly in basil scented olive oil for 8 m. They will form bite-size pearls. Let it cool and remove skin before adding.

Read tip on cooking pasta for a cold salad.
Read more cold pasta salad recipes.

Sophia Loren's spaghetti con pomodoro crudo (raw tomato spaghetti)

For ➍
500 g spaghetti
600 g tomatoes, not quite ripe, chopped
150 g fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 big (or 2 small) red onion, thinly sliced
50 g (Sicilian) green olives, pitted & roughly chopped
1 tbs capers, drained
1 tbs Italian parsley, minced
8 fresh oregano leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt & freshly ground pepper
4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Parmigiano, freshly grated*

Cook the pasta al dente.

Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, mozzarella, onions, olives, capers, parsley, oregano, garlic in a large serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the oil over and toss gently.

When the pasta is ready, pour it into a colander and quickly rinse it under cold water.

Drain well. Add the warm spaghetti to the bowl. Toss to combine, remove the garlic and serve.

Pass the cheese at the table*.

*Optional.

Italian movies' diva Sophia Loren claimed she owed everything to pasta. Hence this recipe from her second cook book.
Read more Sophia Loren recipes & history: Sophia Loren's tiramisu, vermicelli with sauce alla Sofia, omelet Napoletana. Read the similar no-cook pasta sauce suggestion or cold tomato sauce. Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Marinated mozzarella (with figs & prosciutto)

For ➋
4 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
4 black peppercorns
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
a small pinch of salt
a small pinch of red pepper flakes*
100 g fresh buffalo mozzarella (cut into 2 cm cubes or buy small balls)**
4 ripe figs
2 slices of Parma or Ganda ham, at room temperature

Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, salt and red pepper flakes*. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Remove the rosemary sprig. Pour the oil over the fresh mozzarella. Let stand at room temperature for several hours. If (covered and) refrigerated, bring to room temperature before serving.**
Roll each mozzarella part and a bit of fig in a small slice of ham. Secure with a tooth pick if necessary. Or spread the ham over the plate and decorate with halved figs and mozzarella.
The salad variation: Have some mesclun leaves and some fresh mint ready. Wash figs, mint, mesclun. Dry with paper towel. Grill ham until crispy***. Cut marinated mozzarella or bocconcini into thick slices. Place mesclun leaves on plate. Top with wedges of figs, cheese slices and mint leaves. Dress with lemon juice and oil. Top with ham slices and season with cracked black pepper.
Serve with a cool glass of sparkling wine.

*Or paprika powder.
**Instead of marinating the mozzarella, you could use already marinated bocconcini.
***Optional.

Try the related figs with prosciutto.