Lazio is extraordinarily fertile, and since the ingredients are so good, as a general rule the cooks keep things as simple as possible lest the sauces mask the taste of the indredients.
Lamb is intimately associated with Passover: Moses ordered his people to kill white lambs paint the doorways with its blood, and roast it and eat it with pane azzimo, unleavened bread, on the 14th day of the first month of Spring. Hence, I might add, the Italian tradition of lamb at Easter, and this is a Roman Jewish recipe.
Italian sweet-and-sour and sweet-and-pungent recipes tend to be quite old, deriving from the aristocratic Middle Eastern custom of using sugar as a sort of "sweet salt," which the Crusaders discovered and brought home with them. They're no longer as popular as they once were -- tastes have changed, and now Italians prefer more savory dishes -- but they still offer a delightful change of pace.
This traditional Roman Jewish fish and greens tart is quite tasty, in a zesty sort of way, and you may find yourself making it often, especially when company comes calling, because it is also easy to do.
Coratella is the heart, lungs, and liver of a young lamb, and if you buy them in an Italian supermarket, the organs are generally still attached together. The cut is an extremely traditional holdover from the days when the majority of people were too poor to be able to afford richer cuts such as chops or a leg of lamb, and though it's still quite cheap, you'll now find it in elegant restaurants too.
I've gotten several requests for baccalà of late. Baccalà alla Trasteverina is a Roman recipe for fried baccalà served on a bed of onions. Quite tasty, and easy too. In short, perfect for winter, and a good recipe for Lent, though it will be nice any time.
A delightfully whimsy account of exploring the Roman ghetto in search of the national Jewish dish.
Roman Style Fried Meat, or Fritto all Romana: This is a recipe from the Art of Eating Well (Random House, 1996), my translation of Pellegrino Artusi's La Scienza in Cucina e L'Arte di Mangiar Bene, the first truly successful Italian cookbook. He doesn't say why they're Roman, but they will be quite nice as an antipasto or to perk a failing appetite at mid-meal.
A while back Anthony asked for supplì al telefono. These are Roman fritters, rice balls with a meat-and-cheese filling that's quite stringy when it's hot. The sight of the strings dangling from somebody's half-eaten supplì made someone think of phone lines, and hence the name. No, I am not making this up.
Onion and Sardine Salad, or Cipolle e Sarde in Insalata: One has to be a great lover of both onions and sardines to enjoy this treat from Lazio, but if you are it will be quite nice, and just the thing to revive a flagging appetite when it's hot.
Elegant scallops with lobster and salmon.
A hearty dish that's perfect for perking up a flagging appetite.
An unusual olive salad from Lazio, which will work nicely as an antipasto.
A simple antipasto that will be quite nice in the winter months.
String beans and tuna, seasoned with lemon juice: Profoundly refreshing.
Tomatoes stuffed with rice, and a Roman variation with pasta.
Ravioli di Ricotta: These are a sweet cookie from lazio, made by stuffing ravioli with a sugary ricotta filling and frying them. Tasty!
Bocconotti: These are Roman pasta frolla (Italian shortbread) pastries stuffed with ricotta, and baked.
Sweet Fava Beans, or Fave Dolci: There are many versions of the Bones of the Dead, cookies Italians make for the Day of the Dead, November 2. This is Roman, and employs almonds.
A sweet pizza with ricotta and cinnamon that's a Roman Easter tradition.
Olive Salad, or Olive in Insalata: This is a rather unusual recipe from Lazio. You'll need:
Puntarelle: This is a classic Roman dish; the word is a Roman argot, and until fairly recently there was a certain amount of discussion outside of Rome as to what puntarelle are. Turns out they're chicory shoots of a variety known as Catalogna, picked while still young and tender. As is the case with all chicory they do have a bitter undertone to them that makes them a very pleasing accompaniment
Insalata di Cipolle con le Sard, or Onion Salad with Salted Sardines: Ada Boni discusses this most traditional dish in a book on Roman cooking, saying that it rwquires a determined stomach, and is thus falling from favor. I have my doubts, because I often encounter something quite similar, albeit with less onion, along the coast in Southern Tuscany.
Assuntina's Acquacotta: Acquacotta means "cooked water", and this is a hearty peasant soup that farmhands would eat while out in the fields in the Maremma, a wild section of Tuscany southwest of Siena that extends to the coast and down into Lazio as well. It's one of those recipes with a great many variations, and Assuntina, who runs Monti della Tolfa, a neat agriturismo on a beautiful estate south of Rome that offers all sorts of activities, kindly shared her recipe.
Roman Bones, made with almond paste and lemon.
One of the most classic Roman dishes, from my review of David Downie's book on Roman cooking.
Hearty stewed beef with lots of veggies -- usually celery or cardoons.
The one dish almost all Italian men know how to make. Add hot pepper, and it becomes Rome's classic Aglio Olio e Peperoncino.
Pasta and Lentil Soup, or Minestra di Pasta e Lenticchie: This is a classic Roman Jewish recipe.
Rice and Lentil Soup, or Riso e Lenticchie: This is a recipe from Lazio.
La Pizza Ricresciuta is a "regrown pizza," meaning that its dough has risen anew after having been tamped down, and is the classic Roman Easter cake.
Thoughts of sage bring to mind Saltimbocca, one of the most classic Roman dishes. The name literally translates as hopinthemouth and is singularly appropriate -- you can never have too many of these cutlets.
Leonard Bibbo uses veal rib chops for his saltimbooca, and completes them with a tasty wine sauce.
String Bean and Tuna Salad, or Fagiolini e Tonno in Insalata: This is a refreshing summer salad from Lazio. Perfect on a hot summer day!
Pasta with Lentils, or Pasta e Lenticchie: This is a recipe from Lazio, the region governed by Rome.
Gnocchi alla Romana are surprisingly good; indeed their only defect is that they have a way of disappearing off your plate. Artusi begins his recipe for them with, "I hope you will like these as much as my guests have. If you do, make a toast to my health if I’m still alive, or say a rest in peace if I’ve gone to push up cabbages." He goes on to suggest that you double the recipe if you are serving more than three people.
Savoy Cabbage Flan with Pecorino Romano and Guanciale, or Sformato di Verza con Guanciale e Pecorino Romano: Guanciale is cured hog's jowl, and resembles prosciutto in flavor though it's more delicate; in its absence use very thinly sliced prosciutto (the fat and lean parts) instead. The use of hot pepper is quite typical or Roman cuisine.
Every trattoria in rome offers veal or chicken scallops cooked in a Marsala sauce.
Bucatini all'Amatriciana: This zesty pancetta and tomato sauce is commonly associated with Lazio and Rome, but is actually from the town of Amatrice, just over the border into Abruzzo.
Though the Romans claim to have invented this astonishingly simple and mouth watering dish, some say it was developed by Umbrian charcoal burners. Others say it was invented as a way to use bacon and eggs bought on the black market from American service personnel during the Second World War. In any case, it’s one of the few dishes in which bacon can be substituted for the pancetta.
Brodetto Pasquale is the classic beginning to a Roman Easter dinner.
I've gotten a number of requests for Stracciatella of late. It's a Roman version of egg-drop soup with a little cheese, and is quite refreshing.
A tasty, rather different variation on Acquacotta from Lazio.
A refreshing summer salad made with Farro, a delicious whole grain.
Roman-Style Lamb, or Abbacchio alla Romana: This is one of the quintessential spring dishes in the Capital of Italy, and well worth getting excited over. Don't let the presence of anchovies throw you; they serve primarily as salt and will blend into the flavors of the dish quite well, balancing the richness of the lamb.
Abbacchio Brodettato: This is a Roman dish; the egg-and-lemon combination in the sauce is quite similar to what one finds in either Jewish Italian dishes or Greek dishes, so this dish could be quite old. In introducing it in La Cucina Romana e Del Lazio, Mr. Jannattoni says...
Abbacchio al Forno alla Maniera di Rocca Priora:
Grilled Pork Chops Lazio Style, or Costarelle di Maiale alla Laziale: Costarelle can be either ribs or chops, depending upon where you happen to be. In Lazio they're boned chops, at least in this case.
Pennette with Eggplant, or Pennette alle Melanzane: Eggplant is one of the finest vegetables to accompany pasta with. This recipe is from Lazio, via Diana, whose family hales from the region.
Pasta alla Carrettiera, Cart-Driver's Sauce: Pasta alla Carrettiera means Card-Driver's Sauce, and is the sort of thing one expects to find in a truck stop -- simple, tasty, and satisfying. It's usually a spicy tomato sauce, though there are also unusual variations on the theme.
This is a classic Roman recipe.
Arrabbiata means angry, and if made right these penne are spicy. Though the versions offered by the really cheap eateries in Rome rely primarily on garlic and hot pepper for their punch, some of the versions printed in cookbooks generally also call for pancetta (cured, unsmoked salt pork) and onions.
What you'll get in the trattorie in Rome. Hot enough to cool you off, and perfect with a caraffe of Colli Albani.
Roman fried Potatoes, or Patate Fritte alla Romanesca: These is a classic dish that's also called patate a tocchetti, i.e. cubed potatoes. They should be browned, but not crunch, and go perfectly with abbacchio scottadito (grilled lamb chops), or with grilled pork chops.
"In the past," writes Livio Jannattoni in La Cucina romana e del Lazio, "tripe, like many other foodstuffs, was sold in the streets of Rome. Both Bartolomeo Pinelli and Gigi Zannazzo mention it; the latter recalls, "The old fashioned Tripparoli, with their schifo (a tray; the word now also means disgusting) laden with tripe, feet, pieces of veal and calf heads, and more, would go from house to house crying out, "Tripe, trotters, and the rest of the muzzle!"
It might not know that Rome was one of the first places to host a Synagogue outside of Palestine. Jewish traders arrived well before the birth of Christ, and during the Imperial period the Roman Jewish community numbered about 50,000. Though there's no telling how old this recipe is, it could conceivably date back to Imperial times. In any case, carciofi alla giudia are a wonderful treat: they look like golden sunflowers and their leaves have a delicious nutty crunchiness.
Stuffed tomatoes are a universal dish, and rice is one of the most common fillings. This particular version is Roman, and as a variation you can use pasta instead of rice.
Fried Zucchini Slivers: This is a Roman recipe, and though these are not one of the principal components of a Roman-style platter of fried foods, they do add a wonderful touch. As is often the case with Italian recipes, it doesn't give specific quantities.
Sautéed Zucchini: This is a Roman recipe; it calls for prosciutto, which is nice but not absolutely necessary. You can also, if you are in a real pinch, omit the tomatoes, though if you do you should select baby zucchini because they will be more flavorful. If you do use baby zucchini increase double the number from the 8-10 called for here, which would be for larger zucchini.
Gnocchi alla Romana are tremendously satisfying, but they are also rich, to the point that dieticians would frown on one's making them too often. This variation Elisabetta's Aunt Emma learned while living in Rome many years ago is much lighter: It doesn't have any eggs, and reduces the milk as well.
Gnocchi alla Romana made following the basic recipe are quite simple. And tasty too, but simple enough to invite variations. Here's a simple one based on leeks and speck, the glorious smoked ham of the Südtyrol. If you cannot find speck, use Prosciutto.
Gnocchi alla Romana are tremendously satisfying, but they are also rich, to the point that dieticians would frown on one's making them too often. This variation Elisabetta's Aunt Emma learned while living in Rome many years ago is much lighter: It doesn't have any eggs, and reduces the milk as well.
Pellegrino Artusi only included a few Roman dishes in his classic, La Scienza in Cucina, and modern Romans say he doctored what he did include, and some imply he developed this recipe for Gnocchi alla Romana. It is quite good, so good he begins with: I hope you will like these as much as my guests have. If you do, toast me if I'm alive, or say a Rest in Peace if I've gone to push up cabbages.
This is an old Roman Jewish recipe: Giuliana Ascoli Vitali Norsa warns that those with weak livers had best avoid it, and indeed the ingredients would cause a dietician to raise an eyebrow. She suggests it be served for Purim.
