Roman cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of the Italian city of Rome. It features fresh, seasonal and simply-prepared ingredients from the Roman Campagna.[Boni (1930), p. 13] These include , Artichoke and Vicia faba, shellfish, milk-fed lamb and Goat meat, and cheeses such as pecorino romano and ricotta.[Boni (1930), p. 14] Olive oil is used mostly to dress raw vegetables, while strutto (pork lard) and fat from prosciutto are preferred for frying.[ The most popular sweets in Rome are small individual pastries called pasticcini, gelato and handmade chocolates and candies.]
Overview
It features fresh, seasonal and simply-prepared ingredients from Roman Campagna. These include peas, and fava beans, shellfish, milk-fed lamb and goat, and cheeses such as pecorino romano and ricotta. Olive oil is used mostly to dress raw vegetables, while strutto (pork lard) and fat from prosciutto are preferred for frying. The most popular sweets in Rome are small individual pastries called pasticcini, gelato and handmade chocolates and candies.
Pasta dishes based on the use of guanciale (unsmoked bacon prepared with pig's jowl or cheeks) are often found in Lazio, such as carbonara pasta and amatriciana pasta. Another pasta dish of the region is arrabbiata, with spicy tomato sauce. The regional cuisine widely use offal, resulting in dishes such as the entrail-based rigatoni with pajata sauce and coda alla vaccinara. Abbacchio is a meat dish based on lamb from the Roman cuisine.
Iconic of Lazio is cheese made from ewes' milk (pecorino romano), pizza al taglio, porchetta (savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast) and Frascati DOC white wine. The influence of the ancient Jewish community can be noticed in the Roman cuisine's traditional carciofi alla giudia.
History
Rome's food has evolved through centuries and periods of social, cultural and political changes. Rome became a major gastronomical center during the Ancient Rome. Ancient Roman cuisine was mainly based on cereals, cheeses, legumes and fruit.
Traditional cucina romana
The Testaccio rione, Rome's trade and slaughterhouse area, is the place where Rome's most original and traditional foods can still be found. The area was often known as the "belly" or "slaughterhouse" of Rome, and was inhabited by butchers, or vaccinari.[Eyewitness Travel (2006), pg. 312 - 313] The most common or ancient Roman cuisine included the quinto quarto ().
Pasta in Rome
Pasta is one important element of Roman cuisine. Famous Roman pasta dishes include cacio e pepe (cheese and black pepper), gricia (a sauce made with guanciale and hard cheese, typically pecorino romano), carbonara (like gricia but with the addition of egg) and amatriciana (like gricia but with the addition of tomato). Fettuccine Alfredo (invented in Rome by the chef of restaurant Alfredo alla Scrofa) is famous abroad, but not considered traditional and mostly unheard of in Rome.
Rome's most common pasta shape is spaghetti, but there are many other forms.
Beverages
The city is known as a center of white wine. Frascati and Roman Castles have been called the best ones in the city.[Eyewitness Travel (2006), pg. 314 - 315]
Desserts
There are also many desserts and sweets in Roman cuisine, many of which are made with ricotta cheese. Typical of Rome is the grattachecca, a type of shaved ice.
Dishes
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It is a preparation of lamb typical of the Roman cuisine. |
| A sauce made with tomatoes, guanciale (cured pork cheek), pecorino romano cheese, black pepper, extra virgin olive oil, dry white wine, and salt. Originating in the comune (municipality) of Amatrice (in the mountainous province of Rieti of the Lazio region), the amatriciana is one of the best known pasta sauces in present-day Roman and Italian cuisine cuisine. |
| An appetizer (antipasto) consisting of grilling bread topped with garlic, olive oil, and salt. Most commonly it is served with toppings of tomatoes, vegetables, beans, cured meat or cheese. |
A pasta dish typical of the Lazio region of Italy.[Boni (1930), p. 46] pepe]] means 'cheese and pepper' in several central Italian dialects. The dish contains grated pecorino romano and black pepper. |
A pasta dish made with Adipose tissue cured pork, hard cheese, eggs, salt, and black pepper. |
It is among the best-known dishes of Roman Jewish cuisine cuisine. |
| It is a typical dish of Roman cuisine of pan braised artichokes. During spring-time in Rome, the dish is prepared in each household and is served in all restaurants. |
It is an oxtail stew in modern Roman cuisine[Massimo Alberini, Giorgio Mistretta, Touring Club Italiano, Guida all'Italia Gastronomica, 1984, p. 287] |
| Stripes of dried meat (pork or horse), usually spicy |
| It is a baked tart or pie. It is made with Ricotta mixed with sugar and lemon zest, and which may additionally include cocoa or . |
| Squash blossom filled with mozzarella and anchovies, battered and deep-fried |
They are prepared with gnocchi made of semolina, Milk, butter, and Parmesan, seasoned with salt and black pepper. |
| They are made with an enriched dough bread roll that is split after baking and cooling and filled with cream. They are enriched buns, made with dried fruit and filled with whipped cream. |
According to one hypothesis, the name of the dish derives from the Romanesco word gricio. In Papal States, the grici were sellers of common foods,[ Pasta alla gricia then would mean pasta prepared with the simple ingredients (guanciale, pecorino romano, and black pepper) readily available at the local gricio.] |
It is a spicy sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, peperoncino, parsley, and extra virgin olive oil. The sauce originates from the Lazio region of Italy, |
Pagliata |
| Saltimbocca is an Italian cuisine dish (also popular in southern Switzerland). It consists of veal that has been wrapped (lined) with prosciutto and sage and then Marination in wine, oil or Saline water, depending on the region or one's own taste. The original version of this dish is saltimbocca alla romana which consists of veal, prosciutto and sage, rolled up and cooked in dry white wine and butter. Marsala wine is sometimes used. Also, sometimes the veal and prosciutto are not rolled up but left flat. |
Scaloppine (plural and diminutive of —a small escalope, i.e., a thinly sliced cut of meat) |
Supplì (Italian language of the French word surprise) are consisting of a Rice ball (generally risotto) with tomato sauce, typical of Roman cuisine.[Boni (1930), p.76] Some believe that they derive from the French and were introduced to Rome by the French troops of Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century. |
Once a popular dish among the poorest inhabitants of Rome, trippa alla romana has become a staple of Roman cuisine. It is part of quinto quarto (, or the offal of butchered animals),[ Recipe: Trippa alla Romana - Explore Parts Unknown by Anthony Bourdain] |
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See also
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