A few days ago, I helped a friend to clear his garden after the previous day’s severe pollarding that followed a storm which had toppled one of the trees. At first, I did not pay much attention to those thick branches that carpeted the grounds; then I picked up one of them, scrunched a couple of leaves and my nostrils were hit by the unmistakable, wonderful perfume of bay: lemony and with hints of nutmeg and pine.
I looked around more inquisitively and realised that bay trees were everywhere: tall trees with thick trunks as well as more modest bushes – “It is an infestation actually,” my friend remarked. He went on to explain that the glorious abundance of bay had nothing to do with his skills as a gardener, but was the result of efficient pollination, carried out by insects and birds – “mother nature can sometimes go over the top”, he pointed out. After a day of chopping, sawing, stacking and raking, all the logs had been stored away and the branches burned. I went home triumphantly carrying a big bunch of bay branches. Rather fitting too: anyone with a smattering of classical knowledge knows that bay (alloro o lauro, in Italian; laurus nobilis in latin) was sacred to the god Apollo and that it symbolised knowledge and victory.
Back home the dilemma: how to use this bounty? Marcella Hazan’s chicken with bay leaf, bay leaf perfumed custard and bay leaf liqueur came to mind; but I wanted to explore something new first though and I searched on line, in Italian and in English, for “alloro sugo” and “bay tomato sauce”. And that is how I discovered this good and unusual tomato sauce for pasta. It comes from Sofia Loren’s 1971 Cookbook In Cucina Con Amore and it is one that I have not seen anywhere else. I was sceptical at first, but it works. My only advice is to use freshly picked leaves and freshly ground cinnamon – it does make a difference.
For convenience, I have marginally adapted the original recipe, using a 400 g can of tomatoes instead of the 300 g fresh tomatoes Sofia Loren suggests.
It is cooked very briefly and it goes well with any type of pasta shape, I think.
Sugo all’alloro e cannella – Bay leaf and cinnamon tomato sauce
One small onion, finely chopped (or two shallots)
One 400 g tin of tomatoes
12 fresh bay leave
half a teaspoon of cinnamon
Oil and butter
Warm up a glug of extra virgin olive oil and a little butter in a a large frying pan.
Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook on low until soft.
Raise the heat and add the bay leaves. After few seconds add the tomatoes and the cinnamon.
Cook for approximately ten minutes on a lively heat.
Notes
I first found this recipe on some Italian websites, but I discovered the original source (Loren’s book) in this piece by Rachel Roddy,
Italian home cooking 
I’m here from Frank’s blog who has mentioned this recipe – just couldn’t ignore such an intriguing combination. I love bay leaf and use a few quite often, including when making pasta sauces. But of course I’ve never used so many in a single recipe, and I cannot wait to try. Loving the touch of cinnamon, too!
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Hi Ben, I have just seen your comment – thank you and my apologies. Let me know what you think, should you try it.
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My husband and I planted bay leaves along our fence line which have flourished under the Aussie sunshine to become a towering hedge surrounding our house. I’m always so happy to discover new recipes for making the most of their fragrant flavour. I might start going through the bookcases of elderly Italian migrants I know who may have purchased Loren’s book during one of their bouts of homesickness. Wish me luck!
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Hi there, I have just seen this comment (grazie!) . Any luck?
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When Mark and I rented (with friends) a villa in Montalcino, it was surrounded by hedge of bay leaves. I think we use them In everything we made that two weeks. But I’ve never thought of the pasta like this… I’m definitely going to try it, as we do have a large bay tree in our front garden.
I was reading your comments with Frank, and I have heard wonderful things about Sophia Loren’s cookbook. She apparently was quite a cook. I was glad to hear it’s available on Kindle, so I’ll check it out.
thanks for another really great recipe, Stefano.
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Hi David. I love bay leaves too. Have you tried in a custard (or to make ice cream)? – pretty special.
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Funny you should ask — I made a bay leaf custard for the blog years ago but never posted it. Not sure why because it was very good. I also want to try the bay leaf liqueur. Have you tried making that?
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David, I did try my deceased friend Carla Tomasi’s “allurino”, bay leaf liqueur and I did not like it. It tasted too medicinal.
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hmmm… maybe it is medicinal! I’ll try it anyway just to see.
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Sounds lovely, Stefano! I’m usually wary of celebrity cookbooks but judging from this recipe this might be the real deal.
By funny coincidence just last night I tried a tomato based meat sauce from Le Marche seasoned with bay leaf and nutmeg. Delicious!
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Hi Frank. I was sceptical but I had to eat my hat so to speak. The book is charming and the recipes are good. I just read the French version so I do not really know the tone/voice it has in the original Italian and in the English translation. I even found a scholarly paper about it: apparently, it was part of a bigger campaign to re-establish Loren’s warm and homely appeal (Ponti’ s divorce and subsequent marriage with Loren had been messy for the the conservative public opinion of the time).
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Made this last night. I didn’t have the luxury of using freshly picked bay leaf. Back in Rome we had an endless supply of bay leaf from our hedges around the garden, but alas here it doesn’t grow. You can buy “fresh” bay leaves in stores. In any event, it was delicious. The bay leaves and cinnamon provided a lovely deep back flavor, if I can call it that. I’ll definitely have it again.
As for Loren’s book, I found it online. For the modest price of around $300… I guess it must be a collector’s item. As curious as I am, I don’t think I’ll be buying it, lol.
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! I did see crazy prices… I will wait it to turn up at some bancarelle (but you can read it for free on http://www.archive.org, albeit in french)
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Hey, turns out I had the original Italian version “In cucina con amore” in my Kindle library! Totally forgot I had it.
Now I’m thinking of trying her vermicelli con la salsa alla Sofia…
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Stefano:
Very glad you’ve discovered the Sofia Loren cookbook. We’ve used it often: it’s filled with excellent, down-to-earth recipes — exactly the opposite of what you’d expect from so glamorous a person!
All best, Tom (and of course Diane)
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ciao Tom. I want now to track down the original Italian edition. Agree, the book has some solid material in it (and the pics are gorgeous). Apparently it was part of a bigger pr campaign to re establish Loren’s image ( that had become overtly sensual) , as a more homely figure
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Stefano:
Very glad you’ve discovered the Sofia Loren cookbook. We’ve used it often: it’s filled with excellent, down-to-earth recipes — exactly the opposite of what you’d expect from so glamorous a person!
All best, Tom (and of course Diane)
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