Notes about Recipes in this book

• Il postino

  • Thegirlwho on September 26, 2022

    Delicious. Quite sweet, which I like. Strong in alcohol; it’s easy to get tipsy before tiring of the taste. Many guests asked for seconds.

• White beans alla Toscana with extra-virgin olive oil and saba

  • DKennedy on September 10, 2012

    This is an impressive appetizer that comes together quite easily. As with all Mozza recipes, it is the finishing touches that make this a standout dish. If you do not have Saba, you can substitute a drop or two of truly high quality balsamic in its place.

• Mozza Caprese

  • fprincess on July 18, 2012

    I don't own the book but I am a fan of Pizzeria Mozza, the restaurant. I have made her take on the Caprese and it is quite spectacular. The tomatoes are slow-roasted in the oven, which develops a ton of flavor (making this a good recipe even if tomatoes aren't absolutely at their peak). They are served on top of burrata. Picture here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php/topic/140562-the-mozza-cookbook/page__p__1885414#entry1885414

• Currant and pine nut relish

  • L.Nightshade on June 11, 2016

    Page 71. I made this relish to go into the Roasted Carrots Sicliana on page 263, but I wish I would have made a lot more, because it’s great with meat, fowl, or cheese. Diced red onion is sautéed with a dried arbol chile (I made a half recipe, but used a whole chile), rosemary, and salt. At the same time currants are simmered in balsamic vinegar, then cooled. The chile and rosemary are removed from the onions, and they are combined with the currants. Just before serving, toasted pine nuts are stirred into the relish, so they hold their crunchy texture. This is just lovely. A perfect balance of sweet and acidic, with just the right touch of heat. I’d keep the heat at the same level for our tastes, using two chiles for a full recipe. http://www.chowhound.com/post/june-2016-cotm-mozza-introduction-aperitivi-stuzzichini-1036732?commentId=9857131

• Burrata with asparagus, brown butter, guanciale, and almonds

  • L.Nightshade on June 11, 2016

    Page 76. Note that you don't need the full 2 cubes of butter; the instructions actually only call for two tablespoons per person. I did the entire first section in advance, with some cheating: I toasted the almonds in the microwave; The grill was going outside, so the guanciale slices and the asparagus were roasted on a tray over the fire. I think this is a pretty special dish, which may have a lot to do with my fondness for burrata, but everyone at table enjoyed it. Grilling the asparagus and guanciale does change it, of course. The smoky element is certainly not part of the original design, but it was worth it to not heat up the kitchen. Full report and photo here: http://www.chowhound.com/post/june-2016-cotm-mozza-introduction-aperitivi-stuzzichini-1036732?commentId=9860166

• Peperonata with ricotta crostoni

  • JuBer on December 26, 2022

    Possibly the most delicious thing I've ever cooked !!

• Nancy's chopped salad

  • yassoma on February 26, 2017

    Very delicious and simple to make. I love taking this salad to work.

• Nancy's pizza dough

  • Dcampos on July 19, 2021

    Better than Peter Reinhart's pizza and I really like his dough. This is a new favorite although there are a lot of steps to this one.

  • bwhip on December 16, 2018

    Almost impossible for me to imagine a better pizza crust for a home oven than this one. It’s just the perfect combination of crispy and chewy. Always great, we just love it.

• Fennel sausage, panna, and scallions pizza

  • mirage on July 18, 2014

    Delicious pizza but I used my regular thin pizza crust recipe.

• Orecchiette with fennel sausage and Swiss chard

  • ncollyer on November 24, 2012

    This is a very delicious dish. More than the sum of its parts. Interesting contrast of textures and deep satisfying flavors. Used a local butcher's rapini sausage which worked well.

  • Breadcrumbs on August 01, 2012

    p. 180 Another stellar dish from this book and we loved the bonus chard leftover for another purpose. The recipe has you prepare a chard stew of sorts (to which I also added some chopped fennel) 1/4 cup is used in this recipe and the remainder is saved for another purpose. In my case I stirred it into steamed rice for a risotto-like side dish another evening. The fennel sausage and Aleppo pepper worked beautifully together and there was just enough chard in this dish to give it a little bite. The hint of bitterness was a nice contrast to the richer flavours of the oil and cheese. Fennel pollen and toasted breadcrumbs on top took this from great to amazing. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/799537#7498240

• Maltagliati with wild boar ragù

  • mirage on January 14, 2015

    One of the best ragus I've ever had.

  • DKennedy on September 10, 2012

    We are great fans of wild boar and so I have several boar ragu recipes in my arsenal. This particular recipe is very labor intensive and has quite a few last minute steps making it unsuitable for weeknight meals. Having said that, the core boar recipe can and should be made ahead and frozen. The basic tomato sauce which is mixed with the boar recipe at the last minute also can and should be made ahead and frozen. If you follow the instructions and do all the last minute instructions, your meal will be outstanding. While I loved this dish, I think some of my other boar recipes (Olives and Oranges) are just as good and far less work.

• Spaghetti alla Gricia

  • L.Nightshade on August 01, 2012

    I did the recipe as written, using guanciale and parsley. I made this with homemade pasta, and I don't yet know how to convert the stated weight for dried pasta to the weight of fresh homemade pasta, so I ended up stirring too much pasta into the sauce. It was still great! The red onion was so sweet, and such a great contrast to the guanciale and the cheese. Ditto on the oohs and aahs, I'll make this again.

• Fiorentini with guanciale, tomato, and spicy pickled peppers

  • DKennedy on September 10, 2012

    This excellent dish comes out exactly as it is served in the restaurant. As with many Mozza recipes, this is a component recipe requiring you to have a passata recipe, and a pickled pepper recipe on hand before you start so a frozen pantry is advisable unless you have all day to put this dish together.

• Pan-roasted halibut pepe verde

  • L.Nightshade on June 12, 2016

    Note that the ingredient list specifically calls for skinless halibut, and the instructions are specific about cooking the halibut skin side down until the skin is brown and crispy.

• Brasata al Barolo with polenta and horseradish gremolata

  • Breadcrumbs on March 25, 2012

    p. 230 - If you love short ribs please run to your butcher and then make this recipe! This dish just makes you smile. You’ll start smiling when the enticing aromas of a full bottle of Barolo reduces in the pot atop the stove. But wait, it gets even better once you put the tightly covered pot into the oven to braise for 3 hours. The aroma that wafts from your home is intoxicating. Our neighbour, out to flatten his lawn, couldn’t help but lean over the fence and ask mr bc if that smell was coming from our house! Instead of removing the veggies and reducing the broth, I used the Bamix and pureed them, adding immediate thickness and flavour. I then continued to reduce by half. I think mr bc would have bathed in that sauce. So rich with deep, homogenous flavours. The meat fell off the bone. We opted to serve over sweet potato gnocchi and skipped the Polenta and Horseradish Gremolata part tonight. We’re still smiling. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/840330#7236010

• Lamb chops scottadito with insalata di fegola sarda, mint, and yogurt

  • L.Nightshade on June 11, 2016

    Page 234. There are a lot of steps to this one, but none too difficult. I used orzo for Mr. Nightshade’s salad, pasta-free for mine. I also used stevia in the rub, which seemed fine. This was very good. And I’d do it again. The lemon, mint, and paprika work beautifully with the lamb, and the salad had exactly the right fresh flavors to complement the meat. The pool of paprika’d yogurt was the perfect addition. Full report and photos here: http://www.chowhound.com/post/june-2016-cotm-mozza-secondi-contorti-1036734?commentId=9857153

• Pan-roasted pork chops with olives and Sambuca-braised fennel

  • Breadcrumbs on April 03, 2012

    p. 241 Yes this was a little time consuming and yes, certain steps were a bit fussy – like tossing all the veggies together then pulling out the fennel pieces to lay on top but, oh-my-goodness was this worth the effort. This was an outstanding dish! If you're a fan of fennel and/or anise flavour, I'd highly recommend it. The veggies caramelized beautifully and their sweetness was further enhanced by the syrupy sambuca. Instead of pan-roasting the pork, we grilled it and then dusted everything w some fennel pollen. Those vegetables were the stuff dreams are made of in my books!! Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/842277#7254988

  • okcook on June 19, 2020

    I agree that the fennel is phenomenal. I like the rub that goes on the pork chop. I will be making this again.

  • L.Nightshade on June 11, 2016

    Start the chop brine midway through cooking the fennel! The pork chops brine for an hour.The fennel takes over two hours. It's a bit of a process. Whew. But delicious! Kind of a wintery dish, but it was cool and rainy here, so it was just perfect. Full report and photo here: http://www.chowhound.com/post/june-2016-cotm-mozza-secondi-contorti-1036734?commentId=9857141

• Roasted carrots Siciliana

  • L.Nightshade on June 11, 2016

    Page 263. This is an easy dish with beautiful results. Carrots are drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and roasted at 450º. Rosemary is fried (I did not use the 1” deep dose of olive oil that the recipe calls for, just poured a bit in the pan, but it was enough that I did have rosemary oil left afterwards). For serving, the roasted carrots are layered with the Currant and Pine Nut relish on page 71, and topped with the fried rosemary. I used rainbow carrots which really made for a colorful presentation. http://www.chowhound.com/post/june-2016-cotm-mozza-secondi-contorti-1036734?commentId=9857133

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