There are passions that you carry with you forever. For Michela Lanza, her passion for soccer has been the common thread that has accompanied her throughout her life. A sports journalist who loves to eat, and how could it be otherwise given the quality of her mother Roberta’s cooking?
A book born during the pandemic lockdown that forced everyone (or almost everyone) to stay within their four walls. During those weeks of confinement, Michela and Roberta devoted themselves to collecting recipes from their family tradition, and they did so meticulously. A five-year project that resulted in two volumes, although only the first has been published so far.
We interviewed Michela, while her mother Roberta approved of what her daughter was telling us, because she prefers to be behind the stove rather than behind a microphone. What is noticeable is the strong bond between these two women, made up of great complicity, maternal and filial love, but also friendship and sharing.
So, it is with great pleasure that I present this beautiful book, which brings together different regional traditions and shows how local culture is being renewed even in the age of fast food.
Le ricette casalinghe di mia madre (My mother’s home recipes) is a beautiful large book and the first volume to collect your family’s traditional home recipes, a tradition that unites two Italian regions where good food is never lacking: Tuscany and Campania. Why would a sports journalist who has published books on sports decide to write a cookbook even though she doesn’t cook?
“I have two main passions: sports, soccer in particular, and good food. I also have a dual tradition, a dual origin. My mother is Tuscan, my father was from Campania, and so my mother learned to cook from her grandmothers. As a result, she stole recipe secrets from both Tuscany and Campania. Of course, she also ventured beyond these regions, and this book also includes recipes from other regions and the great classics of Italian cuisine. These are all recipes that I have enjoyed at home practically since I was born.
My passion for good food and my mother’s cooking inspired me to think about this book, but at a particular time in everyone’s life. During the pandemic, we were at home with my mother, and so the idea of collecting our home recipes was born. Recipes that were initially meant for me, for a future when my mother is no longer here and I will have to try my hand at cooking.
I will definitely seek out that cuisine, and through her recipes, I will be able to continue eating what I have always eaten. It all started as a game, but in the end, it became serious, and we collected many recipes that we divided into two volumes: the one just released with land-based first courses, sea-based first courses, and some leavened products, with about 90 recipes, and the next one.”
So, were those your cooking notes? Don’t you cook now?
“It was all for me, for my future. Yes, I cook, but not much. My mom does most of the cooking because, basically, a woman in the kitchen doesn’t want anyone around, but every now and then I make something too. There was a time, a couple of years ago, when my mom couldn’t cook because she was injured, so thanks to this book, which wasn’t out yet, I prepared some of her recipes. I found it easy to follow because it’s step by step, with lots of explanatory images. Now I can make many of the delicious things found in this first volume. So, yes, I like to cook.“
Is this book suitable for people who don’t know how to cook?
“This book is suitable for everyone and very useful for people who don’t know how to cook, precisely because of these explanations, including photographs, which allow you to follow the recipe step by step.”
Leafing through it, I read: pasta and beans from Tuscany and Campania, pasta and chickpeas from Tuscany and Campania, etc…
What is the difference compared to the traditional recipes?
“My mother could explain this better, but the difference is in the method; the ingredients are practically the same.”
Do cooking and sport go well together?
“In a way, yes. I love sports and cooking. As a girl, I played tennis and practiced athletics in the walking category, but I never gave up eating well. However, athletes still have to stay in shape, follow a diet, and can only stray from it a few times. Let’s say that a normal person who doesn’t do sports professionally can maybe do a little sport after eating! “
What will we find in the second volume? And when will it be released?
”While there are 94 recipes in this first volume, there will be many more in the second. The release is scheduled for a little later because the publisher and I decided that it was best to give the first book some space before publishing the second, which will be even more substantial and even more beautiful. It will contain Tuscan roasts because roast meat is a must in Tuscany, and definitely my absolute favorite recipe: Campania-style eggplant parmigiana because eggplant parmigiana also has various variations depending on the region. My mother’s is special, and anyone who comes to dinner at our house asks for…Ciao, it takes a whole day to prepare and five minutes to finish it!”
