Roman cuisine

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 age. Ancient Roman cuisine was highly influenced by Ancient Greek culture. Subsequently, the empire's enormous expansion exposed Romans to many new, provincial culinary habits and cooking techniques. In the beginning, the differences between social classes were not very great, but disparities developed with the empire's growth. Later, during the Italian Renaissance, Rome became well known as a center of high-cuisine, since some of the best chefs of the time worked for the popes. An example of this could be Bartolomeo Scappi, who was a chef working for Pius IV in the Vatican kitchen, reaching fame with his cookbook Opera dell'arte del cucinare, published in 1570. Here he lists approximately 1000 recipes of Renaissance cuisine and describes cooking techniques and tools, giving the first known picture of a fork. Roman and all Italian cuisine were transformationally influenced by the introduction of new world crops by the Spanish, especially the tomato.

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. The most common or ancient Roman cuisine included the "fifth quarter". Popular foods include pig's trotters, brain, and the genitals of other animals, which were often carefully cooked and richly spiced with different savouries, spices and herbs. The old-fashioned coda alla vaccinara (oxtail cooked in the way of butchers) is still one of the city's most popular meals and is part of most of Rome's restaurants' menus. Lamb is also a very popular part of Roman cuisine, and is often roasted with spices and herbs. There is a considerable Jewish influence in Roman cuisine, since many Jews lived in the city, and some of the traditional meals of the ghetto date back over 400 years. Such include the carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style artichokes) and Jewish courgettes.

Pasta in Rome

Pasta is one important element of Roman cuisine. Famous pasta sauces include amatriciana, carbonara, (a sauce made with pancetta or guanciale - pig's cheek -, cheese and egg), cacio e pepe and gricia (like carbonara but without eggs). Alfredo (invented by the chef of restaurant "Alfredo alla Scrofa") is famous abroad, but not considered traditional and mostly unheard of in Rome.

There used to be a pasta museum in Rome called the Museo Nazionale della Paste Alimentari (the National Museum of Pasta), but now there is a hotel there. 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, especially with the warm territory. Frascati and Castelli Romani have been called the best ones in the city.

Other elements of Roman food

There are also many other dishes in Roman cuisine, including several desserts and sweets, many of which are made with ricotta cheese. Typical of Rome is the grattachecca.

Dishes

• Abbacchio alla cacciatora - floured lamb chops cooked in oil and vinegar, spiced with garlic, sage, anchovies and rosemary
• Bucatini all'Amatriciana - pasta dish with tomato sauce, guanciale, and grated Pecorino Romano.
• Bruschetta - a popular antipasto or appetizer in central Italy. It comes from the Romanesco word bread which is lightly burnt, typically rubbed with garlic and topped with oil and tomatoes.
• Carciofi alla romana - Whole artichokes filled with minced garlic and parsley and cooked in olive oil.
• Carciofi alla giudia (Jewish style artichokes) Whole artichokes filled with chili peppers and deep fried.
• Coda alla vaccinara - Oxtail stew, cooked with tomato sauce, celery, clove and bitter chocolate
• Crostata di ricotta - Is a richly baked cheesecake, made with ricotta, and flavored with lemons (or oranges) and Marsala wine.
• Fiori di Zucca - zucchini flowers filled with mozzarella cheese and anchovies, battered and deep fried.
• Rigatoni con la Pajata - pasta dish with a sauce made with ringed intestines of a milk-fed veal and pecorino cheese.
• Saltimbocca alla Romana - Roman-style veal with ham (prosciutto) and sage. Saltimbocca is a contraction of "salta in bocca", which literally means jump in the mouth.
• Scaloppine alla romana - Veal sautéed with fresh baby artichokes
• Spaghetti alla Carbonara - pasta dish with a sauce made with whipped eggs, and topped with Italian bacon, pepper and grated Pecorino Romano.
• Supplì - fried rice croquettes which are stuffed with beef ragout and mozzarella.
• Trippa alla romana cooked with tomato sauce and wild mint, and topped with pecorino cheese is an ancient Roman tradition.