Risotto With Nettles: A Memoir with Food

by Anna Del Conte

Born in Milan, Anna del Conte grew up in Italy in a gentler time. When war came to Italy everything changed: her family had to abandon their apartment and the city for the countryside, where the peasants still ate well, but life was dangerous... As a teenager, Anna became used to throwing herself into a ditch as the strafing planes flew over, and was imprisoned, twice. Her story is informed and enlivened by the food and memories of her native land - from lemon granita to wartime risotto with nettles, from vitello tonnato to horsemeat roll, from pastas to porcini.

Anna arrived in England in 1949 to a culinary wasteland. She married an Englishman and stayed on, and while bringing up her children, she wrote books which inspired a new generation of cooks. This is a memoir of a life seen through food - each chapter rounded off with mouthwatering recipes.

Genres: Food, Memoir, Cookbooks, Italy, Nonfiction, Foodie, Cooking

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Anna Del Conte (born 1925 in Milan, Italy) is the doyenne of Italian cookery. Her books include the acclaimed Portrait of Pasta, Gastronomy of Italy and Amaretto, Apple Cake and Artichokes. She won the Duchessa Maria Luigia di Parma award for Gastronomy of Italy, and has won awards from the Guild of Food Writers and the Academia Italiana della Cucina. In 2010 Anna received from the president of the Italian Republic the honour of Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica italiana in recognition of the work she does for Italy and Italian food in this country. In 2011 Nigella Lawson presented her with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Guild of Food Writers. She lives in Dorset.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Del Conte’s account of her life with food – growing up in Milan in the 1930s and staying in England for good after meeting husband Oliver during her au pair year – is an enjoyable addition to the genre of ‘foodie memoir’. Though not as well-written or captivating as Fuchsia Dunlop’s Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper or Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires, it is a sweetly unpretentious book similar to Colette Rossant’s dual-country memoirs, Madeleines in Manhattan and Apricots on the Nile.

My favorite anecdote relates to a trip her mother made to the opera to see the legend Toscanini. She was snacking on a box of chocolates when the whole contents fell onto the stage one by one, crashing into the timpani just before the overture was due to start.

I also valued her wise (and sobering) words about the difficulty of dividing one’s self between two countries:

“When I look back I am always amazed at the part fate plays in one’s life. Because of that chance decision [to visit Westminster Abbey, where she met Oliver, the week before she was due to return to Italy], I have become a hybrid, fitting properly neither here nor there, being neither English nor any longer Italian, always missing something when I am here or something else when I am there...One might have a less dull life, more interesting experiences, broader education, but the price is high. It demands a lot of goodwill to bridge the gap that separates two people who have grown up in different countries. You certainly learn to share most things, but the baggage of anecdotes, proverbs, everyday allusions remain incomprehensible to the other person. In many cases the partners can make the most of the situation, but it can also create an abyss that tends to widen.”

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly average contribution to the 'foodie memoir' genre. If Del Conte needed 'encouragement' from her publisher to write a memoir, maybe that should have set warning bells ringing.

I knew it would only be a matter of time before we got the 'all English food was filthy and uneatable until we Italians came along and introduced you to pasta and pizza'. I didn't have long to wait.
But there again I probably only have a bland English palate so what would I know!
She did give a brief nod to the wonderful English puddings we've always been renowned for - but it was a grudging nod.

We also got the old cliché (several times) of how she'd eaten something stunningly marvellous whilst young and had then spent the next few decades trying and failing to recreate it.

Del Conte has clearly led an interesting life. However, the book definitely holds back. For example we get hints of some extra marital love affairs (one serious) but they remain unexplored as she hurries back to the safety of food writing.

Best part of the book by far has to be the recipes she includes at the end of each chapter. These pushed the rating up from a 2 star to a 3.
I'm definitely going to seek out some of her recipe books.

[Louise Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story that gently reveals itself. I'm a big food lover so I loved how it was a story of her life but with food front and centre, some of the recipes are great too. It took me a while to get used to her slightly matter of fact style, a sometimes found it a bit blunt and straight but as I got through it I appreciated that as just a part of her character.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for food lovers who also appreciate the simplicity of a home spun life story, told in her own words, a transformation of a young girl in wartime Italy to becoming a woman of prominent respect in food circles all over the world. Melding recipes over the years of home cooking, which appear at the end of each chapter, to relating the changes to her lifestyle leaving the nature of being in ones own element in Italy for unknown England, on her rise to prominent cookbook author. This is a simple real life history of Italian food along her journey. Some may not enjoy the everyday manner of descriptions dotted with Italian expressions & references to make shift cooking methods but the words come from the heart. This is not the language of fancy culinary chef school breakdowns of Michelin guides but an honest feast from the kitchens in old school traditional cooking from the doyenne of Italian cooking.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just never warmed up to the author or most of her stories. She grew up in a very privileged pre-WWII Milan household with cooks, nannies, etc. Her experiences during the war were interesting but I felt touched upon lightly - a little too light for the subject matter. There were a lot of throwaway lines with not a lot of followup. Like saying her premature daughter did well except for those years of causing worry when she was a teen. Well, what did she do? We'll never know.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

And a bit more star. I did enjoy this - especially the earlier part of the book growing up before and through the second world war in Italy - not so much the later part covering her career. The early Oxford and London life had a number of parallels with my mother and father and that gave extra interest - I even wondered if they had met at all. There are also some recipes I may try.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Contains a few interesting stories of Her experience in Italy during WW2, and details her passion For food. I am not familiar with the writer but she was apparently instrumental in promoting Italian food in the UK after she moved there post war. Each chapter ends with a favourite recipe. I listened on audio, which does make it a bit hard if you want to note the recipes.

[Jenifer Lavery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Risotto with nettles

A delightful gentle romp through the life of the author that encapsulates so much more than just the story of the food. The eloquent way the author describes events makes you feel simply like tilting your head and saying ah of course that was how it happened. There could be no other way

[Crini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is most probably my favorite book so far this 2022 summer season. This must be because the book is part of this new kind of genre I discover I love: the blend of autobiography with recepies. And this one is (mostly) dedicated to the Italian cuisine and history as the book is written from the perspective of Anna del Conte, a member of the Itlaian high-society which moves and marries in England where first familiarize the british people with the Italian true cuisine.
There were moments when reading the book that I “felt” the history vibrating - like the chapter where the recepie which gives the title of the book is presented - and likewise moments when I wanted to stop reading and start cooking what she described. It is also interesting following the Italian history through the chapters and “seing” the different Italian landscapes development through the years and through the eyes of the author which travelled extensively across Italy even after her move to England.

This is not the life experience of a modest Italian citizen, on the contrary, so there were moments when I felt the take of the author on the historical events as being too shalow but also moments when you appreciate her openess and honesty.

[Nathalie Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hoped to love it, but I found the first half very long and descriptive rather than compelling (my aversion to reading history coming through). From the second half onwards, I started to enjoy it much more. And I was thrilled to finally read the chapter that comes before the recipe that changed me (30 years of hating marmite came to an end last year).

[Mollie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to give up on this one because I just found it so boring and I kept trying to read it out of guilt. The tone just isn’t for me and I don’t think we share the same perspective on food, probs because I’m not an Italian chef...

[Qwerty88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

the story of her childhood in Italy is obviously what she cares about telling the most. Her time in England, especially once she became involved with the food writing industry is noticeably thin.

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re read for me. Lots more feelings than I remember. And more things I disagree with her on. But still a good read

[Amy Gough · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big part of the reason I liked this one was great recipes sprinkled throughout!

[Lisa of Hopewell]

I learned of this book here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZepoM...

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anna, Anna, Anna ... if only you weren't so self absorbed.

[Sarah Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. A fascinating life story sprinkled with recipes that are very different from what one usually gets in an Italian cookbook.

[Leonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly enjoyable overall, though I was really interested in her wartime years in Italy.

[Clare Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book relating a fascinating life with food in Italy and the uk

[Julie McAliece · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an enchanting book. I loved reading about Anna's life. It was so interesting - the war years were amazing.
Thoroughly recommend this book.

[Georgie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I love books about the lives of 'ordinary' people and I love books about food, so this was right up my street.

Anna Del Conte shares her memories of growing up in Italy before, during, and after World War II, and of her life in England, which included trips to Tokyo and all around Italy.

Her descriptions of the sights and smells of the various food markets and kitchens she grew up in and around are fascinating and mouth-watering. Her recollections of life during World War II are told without exaggeration or dramatisation, which makes them all the more realistic and dramatic. It was really interesting to learn what life was like for ordinary Italian citizens, many of whom disagreed with Mussolini's politics and actions and for whom the Germans could be both terrifying enemies but also friends. They were really stuck in the middle of the whole thing, and this was after suffering years of restrictions under Mussolini's Fascist government.

Her descriptions of her life in England where she met and married her husband, had her children, and where she was a major influence in moving the British understanding and appreciation of 'Italian' food beyond spaghetti-in-a-can were amusing and interesting. I really loved her descriptions of the trips she took with her family or for work, especially the chapter on her visit to Tokyo.

Del Conte's memories are full of delicious sounding food she prepares, enjoys, and shares with family and friends. She's also fond of music and books, but it is her love of food which shines through most. The descriptions are mouth-watering and there are recipes throughout the book as well.

Throughout her story, Del Conte maintains a wonderful tone of slight self-deprecation and humour. She doesn't take herself too seriously, which is a rare thing in memoirs, and there's no hint at all of a 'look at me, aren't I just so awesome' that you get in way too many books which 'famous' people write about their lives.

The only downside about this book? It made me hungry but I couldn't eat it! And even if I'd tried, it would not taste of all the yummy food she describes!

[Chris Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is an amusing anecdote in this book from World War II when Anna and her family are being sheltered in an Italian villa, having lost their own accommodation to German officers. The house is sheltering several other Italian families, German officers and (unbeknownst to the other guests) partisans hiding in the attic. In the basement the hostess and her cook are making grappa when a batch explodes. The hostess runs up the stairs shouting in Italian that it is "only the grappa, only the grappa" so that the partisans don't come out from hiding thinking the house is under attack. The German officers do think the house is under attack and start frantically searching the gardens to no avail.

I liked the sections about Anna growing up in well to do circumstances in Milan and her stories of the war the best, particularly the recipes that Anna recalls from those days. Surprisingly, unlike many people she ate very well during the war.

I also liked her reminiscences about living in England after the war when she was first an au pair and then married an Englishman, Oliver, (the family continued to eat well, despite the rationing in the 1950s, because of Anna's skill at turning meat such as horse meat and pig's trotters into tasty dishes) and of later holidaying (and the things they ate) in Tuscany and Venice.

I was not so interested in her success at writing cook books but what tipped my rating from a 3 to a 4 was her tender descriptions of her grandchildren in the last chapter of the book and her poignant postscript where she pays tribute to her husband of more than 50 years, Oliver.

The book is peppered with recipes from the simplest - spaghetti with Marmite (!) and another with fresh tomato sauce, to the more adventurous where the dish is made from half a calf's head and its tail. Most of the recipes sound deliciously Italian: filled with fresh pasta, cream, cheeses and unsalted butter.

[Steve Wales · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm rather a late-comer to the charms of Anna Del Conte but I absolutely loved this book. Whether describing her rather privileged childhood, her family's life during the Second World War in Italy, life in post-war Britain, her career or just family holidays, Del Conte writes beautifully and evocatively about the places she has lived in and loved, and naturally about the food she has cooked or eaten along the way.

Each chapter ends with a small selection of recipes related to the foods, place or period described within it, be it the celebratory feast at the end of the war in Italy or just the polenta biscuits favoured by the children. The recipes are easy to follow and those that I have already tried have been very successful and delicious - and I intend to try many more. My plans include the Baked Tagliatelle with Mushrooms (putting my newly-learned pasta-making skills to good use), Risotto al Limone and the Polentine biscuits - and that may just be for this week!

I highly recommend this book, even for those who, like me, don't already have a collection of Anna's recipe books. Her food is enticing, but her life has certainly been eventful and she writes about her fascinating experiences brilliantly in an account that is sometimes moving, sometimes humorous and self-effacing (e.g. her self-confessed 'failures') but always frank and honest.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anna started this memoir by saying that she was reluctant to write her memoir and was encouraged by her agent and it's fairly obviously in her writing. Her life itself is interesting and the recipes seem to be lovely but the writing is awkward and uncomfortable. Sometimes writers should pay attention to their enthusiasm for their writing instead of listening to the fawning of an agent or publisher.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an interesting book, especially in regard to what it was like living in Italy during the second world war. However, the books was greatly diminished, for me, by the author's constant allusions to "the good old days" and how modern life just can't compare. She is convinced no one today does things properly, and this gave the a negative tone in parts.

[Shayma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Anna del Conte and adore her cookery books. Sadly, I found this book to be very boring and written in 'pedestrian' English, "I cooked this and then I sat down and then I went there and then I came here." There was nothing exciting about this book, except, perhaps for the first chapter where she talks about the marrons glacés in a nostalgic tone.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it. Perhaps the problem was that I hadn't heard of Anna Del Conte as a cookery writer, so I was indifferent to her and her life. Her life story was interesting enough if not scintillating and she writes well and with wit and observation, and self-depreciation when necessary. So not a bad read, really.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very plainly written, which I found off-putting until I decided it was plain the way that cooking simple ingredients could be considered plain - but also delicious. Great range of recipes and I enjoyed how she connected each with a time in her life.

[Anne Wall]

This was an indulgent autobiography. Wonderful recipes but they don't make up for the awkward proce.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed with this book as the writing was pretty dull. I expected so much excitement from the food writing, but just didn't get it.