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The Mozza Cookbook: Recipes from Los Angeles's Favorite Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria
A traditional Italian meal is one of the most comforting—and delicious—things that anyone can enjoy. Award-winning chef Nancy Silverton has elevated that experience to a whole new level at her Los Angeles restaurants Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza, co-owned with restaurateurs Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. A reservation at Mozza has been the hottest ticket in town since the restaurants opened and diners have been lining up for their wildly popular dishes. Finally, in The Mozza Cookbook, Silverton is sharing these recipes with the rest of the world.
The original idea for Mozza came to Nancy at her summer home in Panicale, Italy. And that authentic Italian feel is carried throughout the book as we explore recipes from aperitivo to dolci that she would serve at her tavola at home. But do not confuse authentic with conventional! Under Silverton’s guidance, each bite is more exciting and delectable than the last, with recipes such as:
Fried Squash Blossoms with Ricotta
Buricotta with Braised Artichokes, Pine Nuts, Currants, and Mint Pesto
Mussels al Forno with Salsa Calabrese
Fennel Sausage, Panna, and Scallion Pizza
Fresh Ricotta and Egg Ravioli with Brown Butter
Grilled Quail Wrapped in Pancetta with Sage and Honey
Sautéed Cavolo Nero
Fritelle di Riso with Nocello-soaked Raisins and Banana Gelato
Olive Oil Gelato
In the book, Nancy guides you through all the varieties of cheese that she serves at the Mozzarella Bar in the Osteria. And you’ll find all the tricks you need to make homemade pastas, gelato, and pizzas that taste as if they were flown in directly from Italy. Silverton’s lively and encouraging voice and her comprehensive knowledge of the traditions behind this mouthwateringly decadent cuisine make her recipes—both familiar and intricate—easy to follow and hard to resist. It’s no wonder it is so difficult to get a table at Mozza—when you’re cooking these dishes there will be a line out your door as well.
The original idea for Mozza came to Nancy at her summer home in Panicale, Italy. And that authentic Italian feel is carried throughout the book as we explore recipes from aperitivo to dolci that she would serve at her tavola at home. But do not confuse authentic with conventional! Under Silverton’s guidance, each bite is more exciting and delectable than the last, with recipes such as:
Fried Squash Blossoms with Ricotta
Buricotta with Braised Artichokes, Pine Nuts, Currants, and Mint Pesto
Mussels al Forno with Salsa Calabrese
Fennel Sausage, Panna, and Scallion Pizza
Fresh Ricotta and Egg Ravioli with Brown Butter
Grilled Quail Wrapped in Pancetta with Sage and Honey
Sautéed Cavolo Nero
Fritelle di Riso with Nocello-soaked Raisins and Banana Gelato
Olive Oil Gelato
In the book, Nancy guides you through all the varieties of cheese that she serves at the Mozzarella Bar in the Osteria. And you’ll find all the tricks you need to make homemade pastas, gelato, and pizzas that taste as if they were flown in directly from Italy. Silverton’s lively and encouraging voice and her comprehensive knowledge of the traditions behind this mouthwateringly decadent cuisine make her recipes—both familiar and intricate—easy to follow and hard to resist. It’s no wonder it is so difficult to get a table at Mozza—when you’re cooking these dishes there will be a line out your door as well.
640 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
106 people are currently reading
545 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 30, 2020
3.75 stars. Book is from 2011 but already seems outdated design wise. Lots of text heavy description with no photos of the finished product. Feels like she tried to pack as many recipes in as possible instead of picking less but then displaying them with great photos, etc. Great cookbook though if you are a fan of Mozza and Nancy Silverton!
June 15, 2017
She is thorough in describing the techniques and ingredients used in these otherwise fairly simple and straightforward recipes that I always feel in good hands. After living in Italy myself, I also like to chart the ways in which she has integrated important Italian culinary culture, and language that expresses it. She works hard for the money, and I appreciate it!
July 26, 2020
Checked this out of the library after reading that Smitten Kitchen's chopped salad was based on Nancy Silverton's in this book. Yum! other good recipes in here, but I doubt I'll tackle any.
January 30, 2022
I'm sure the recipes yield tasty results but honestly most were a little too involved for where I am right now.
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April 17, 2025Eh. Eat at the restaurant if you have the chance. Skip the cookbook.
October 12, 2011
Behold, my most direct and to the point review ever. Ready? Here it is:
GET THIS BOOK. Read this book. Eat from this book. Get fat. Go to yoga. Work off that fat. Eat from this book some more. Repeat.
Ms. Silverton book book is an Italian cooking masterpiece. From reading the introduction, the prep for each recipe, Nancy's explanations and the energy of a book team that is the master of their craft, this book takes your cooking to another level and inspires you to be better.
The recipe selections are perfect and well rounded. The only problem is, I want to cook all of them. Especially, the best damn version of vanilla gelato I have EVER read.
I expect to add pounds of delicious flesh from trying the squash blossoms, tomato and burrata pizza paired with garganelli with ragu bolognese and maybe the grilled beer tagliata, rucola, and parmigiano-reggiano and finished with the vanilla gelato with toasted walnut biscotti.
By the way -If you're a lazy cook or an Italian-cooking-must-be-made-only-one-way-and-nothing-can-change-ever purist, don't bother getting this book. It's not for you. Might I suggest, in humor, "Fabulicious!: Teresa's Italian Family Cookbook" by the well know Real Housewives of New Jersey 'writer'? :-)
GET THIS BOOK. Read this book. Eat from this book. Get fat. Go to yoga. Work off that fat. Eat from this book some more. Repeat.
Ms. Silverton book book is an Italian cooking masterpiece. From reading the introduction, the prep for each recipe, Nancy's explanations and the energy of a book team that is the master of their craft, this book takes your cooking to another level and inspires you to be better.
The recipe selections are perfect and well rounded. The only problem is, I want to cook all of them. Especially, the best damn version of vanilla gelato I have EVER read.
I expect to add pounds of delicious flesh from trying the squash blossoms, tomato and burrata pizza paired with garganelli with ragu bolognese and maybe the grilled beer tagliata, rucola, and parmigiano-reggiano and finished with the vanilla gelato with toasted walnut biscotti.
By the way -If you're a lazy cook or an Italian-cooking-must-be-made-only-one-way-and-nothing-can-change-ever purist, don't bother getting this book. It's not for you. Might I suggest, in humor, "Fabulicious!: Teresa's Italian Family Cookbook" by the well know Real Housewives of New Jersey 'writer'? :-)
April 7, 2016
Nancy Silverton is a fabulous chef that I have followed for years. Her food is exquisite and her cookbooks are beautiful.
I fell in love with the pictures in this cookbook long before I cooked a single recipe but, in cooking many of them, I was not disappointed.
I have used numerous of the recipes in this book and each and every one of them is well-written and easy to follow and execute. They all turn out really well and are super tasty.
I recently had the opportunity to dine at Mozza and was thrilled to see many of the dishes in the book were still on the menu and they tasted just like the recipes I'd been following...although so much better at the restaurant with Nancy cooking them instead of me. ;-)
This is one of my favorite cookbooks and go-to for dinner parties.
Victoria Allman
author: A Chef's Journey with Her Captain
I fell in love with the pictures in this cookbook long before I cooked a single recipe but, in cooking many of them, I was not disappointed.
I have used numerous of the recipes in this book and each and every one of them is well-written and easy to follow and execute. They all turn out really well and are super tasty.
I recently had the opportunity to dine at Mozza and was thrilled to see many of the dishes in the book were still on the menu and they tasted just like the recipes I'd been following...although so much better at the restaurant with Nancy cooking them instead of me. ;-)
This is one of my favorite cookbooks and go-to for dinner parties.
Victoria Allman
author: A Chef's Journey with Her Captain
January 12, 2013
Honestly, I did not like the layout of this book at all. From the format of the font to what felt to me to be sloppy style, I simply didn't enjoy reading or using this book.
I think cook books are a bit more difficult to review because, in my mind, there are two aspects to the book itself - the writing and the recipes. The reason I say that is that to a certain extent, the writing is what makes the recipes accessible.
My challenge for me is that while I didn't have any issue with the recipes that we tried, the format of the book doesn't make it enticing for me to go back to it with any regularity. For that reason, I'm ranking it as OK because of the writing style more than the recipes.
I think cook books are a bit more difficult to review because, in my mind, there are two aspects to the book itself - the writing and the recipes. The reason I say that is that to a certain extent, the writing is what makes the recipes accessible.
My challenge for me is that while I didn't have any issue with the recipes that we tried, the format of the book doesn't make it enticing for me to go back to it with any regularity. For that reason, I'm ranking it as OK because of the writing style more than the recipes.
September 22, 2015
the recipes are long, but silverton mentions this at the beginning anyways, so you're prepared when you dive in (so long as you read the intro). she says she hopes you won't get discouraged by the length, but i hate to claim that this did deter me (1.5 pages for a crostini or salad recipe??), even though i love to cook/bake.
the pictures were sparse (watch out, those who want a picture of everything), but the ones that were there were gorgeous. i could have stared at the buricotta with braised artichokes, pinenuts, currants and mint pesto for hours.
while the book didn't necessarily get me excited to cook from it (very bad, because isn't that the point of a cookbook?), it did get me excited to visit the restaurants.
the pictures were sparse (watch out, those who want a picture of everything), but the ones that were there were gorgeous. i could have stared at the buricotta with braised artichokes, pinenuts, currants and mint pesto for hours.
while the book didn't necessarily get me excited to cook from it (very bad, because isn't that the point of a cookbook?), it did get me excited to visit the restaurants.
December 30, 2014
I think if I could only have one cookbook it would be this one. With recipes for pasta, pizza and cheese what more could you want? But there's so much more. The recipes are very well-written and detailed, something you don't often see in many new cookbooks. I'm only disappointed that there aren't photos of every dish and that the photos that are in the book aren't captioned. A big pet peeve of mine.
April 27, 2016
Made several recipes - all turned out tasty! Only 4 stars because it needs more pictures, and some more thorough explanations of certain specific techniques used in the book (e.g. making orcchiette pasta).
November 20, 2011
Fantastic cookbook- easily accessible recipes that are amazing! Super yums!
December 29, 2011
The pizza recipe alone is worth the price.
February 22, 2012
Great italian cookbook. Includes recipes for making cheese. well written.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews