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Roman cuisine comes from the Italian city of Rome. It features fresh, seasonal and simply-prepared ingredients from the Roman Campagna. [1] These include peas, globe artichokes and fava beans, shellfish, milk-fed lamb and goat, and cheeses such as pecorino romano and ricotta . [2] Olive oil is used mostly to dress raw vegetables, while strutto (pork lard) and fat from prosciutto are preferred for frying. [1] The most popular sweets in Rome are small individual pastries called pasticcini, gelato ("ice cream") and handmade chocolates and candies. [3] Special dishes are often reserved for different days of the week; for example, gnocchi is eaten on Thursdays, baccalà (salted cod) on Fridays, and trippa on Saturdays.
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 mainly based on cereals, cheeses, legumes and fruit. [4] 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. [5] Roman and all Italian cuisine were transformationally influenced by the introduction of new world crops by the Spanish, especially the tomato.
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. [6] The most common or ancient Roman cuisine included the "fifth quarter". [6] Popular foods include pig's trotters, brain, and the genitals of other animals, [6] 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) [6] 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. [6] 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), Jewish courgettes and the pizza dolce di Beridde .
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). 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.
There used to be a pasta museum in Rome called the Museo Nazionale della Paste Alimentari (the National Museum of Pasta), [6] but now there is a hotel there. Rome's most common pasta shape is spaghetti, but there are many other forms. [6]
The city is known as a center of white wine. Frascati and Castelli Romani have been called the best ones in the city. [7]
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. [6]
Name | Image | Description |
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Abbacchio alla romana | floured lamb chops cooked in garlic, olive oil and chopped ham. Cooking is completed with rosemary, vinegar, salt and pepper. It is usually served with roasted potatoes. At the end of cooking the abbacchio in the oven, a sauce based on anchovies and aromatic herbs is added. [8] | |
Bucatini all'amatriciana | pasta dish with tomato sauce, guanciale , and grated pecorino romano [9] | |
Bruschetta | a popular antipasto or appetizer in central Italy. It comes from the Romanesco word 'bread which is lightly burnt' and it's typically rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil and tomatoes. | |
Cacio e pepe | pasta dish with a sauce made with black pepper and grated pecorino romano | |
Carciofi alla romana | whole artichokes filled with minced garlic and parsley and cooked in olive oil [10] | |
Carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style artichokes) | whole artichokes deep-fried in olive oil [10] | |
Coda alla vaccinara | oxtail stew, either cooked with tomato sauce, bitter chocolate, celery, clove, white wine, lard and onions, or with tomato sauce, celery, dark cocoa, pine nuts and raisins | |
Coppiette ("couples") | stripes of dried meat (pork or horse), usually spicy | |
Crostata di ricotta | tart made with ricotta, sometimes flavored with lemons (or oranges) and Marsala wine [6] | |
Fiori di zucca | zucchini flowers filled with mozzarella and anchovies, battered and deep-fried | |
Gnocchi alla romana | oven-baked semolina gnocchi | |
Maritozzi | a split brioche roll filled with cream | |
Pasta alla gricia | pasta dish with a sauce made with guanciale, black pepper and grated pecorino romano | |
Penne all'arrabbiata | pasta dish with a sauce made from garlic, tomatoes and dried red chili peppers, cooked in olive oil | |
Rigatoni con la pajata | pasta dish with a sauce made with ringed intestines of a milk-fed veal and pecorino romano [11] | |
Saltimbocca alla romana | Roman-style veal with prosciutto crudo , sage, white wine, butter and flour. Saltimbocca is a contraction of "salta in bocca", which literally means 'jump in the mouth'. [12] | |
Scaloppine alla romana | veal sautéed with fresh baby artichokes | |
Spaghetti alla carbonara | pasta dish with a sauce made with egg yolks, guanciale, black pepper and grated pecorino romano | |
Supplì | fried rice croquettes, either filled with beef ragout and mozzarella, or chicken giblets, mincemeat and provatura | |
Trippa alla romana | tripe cooked with tomato sauce, pennyroyal, chilli pepper, cloves, laurel, celery, carrots and onions and topped with pecorino romano [13] | |
Media related to Cuisine of Rome at Wikimedia Commons
Pecorino romano is a hard, salty Italian cheese, often used for grating, made with sheep's milk. The name pecorino simply means "ovine" or "of sheep" in Italian; the name of the cheese, although protected, is a simple description rather than a brand: "[formaggio] pecorino romano" is simply "sheep's [cheese] of Rome".
Carbonara is a pasta dish made with eggs, hard cheese, fatty cured pork, and black pepper. The dish took its modern form and name in the middle of the 20th century.
Fettuccine is a type of pasta popular in Roman cuisine. It is descended from the extremely thin capelli d'angelo of the Renaissance but is a flat, thick pasta traditionally made of egg and flour. At about 6.5 mm, it is wider and thicker than, but similar to, the tagliatelle typical of Bologna, which are more common elsewhere in Italy and is often used as a synonym. Spinach fettuccine is made from spinach, flour, and eggs.
Arrabbiata sauce, or sugo all'arrabbiata in Italian, is a spicy sauce for pasta made from garlic, tomatoes, and dried red chili peppers cooked in olive oil. The sauce originates from the Lazio region, and particularly from the city of Rome.
Rigatoni con la pajata is a classic dish of the Roman cuisine. The dish can be found in some traditional trattorias in Rome.
Coda alla vaccinara is an oxtail stew in modern Roman cuisine including various vegetables, notably celery. The tail is considered offal, nicknamed in Rome the quinto quarto.
Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Some of these foods were imported from other cultures. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide.
Sugoall'amatriciana, or alla matriciana, also known as salsa all'amatriciana, is a traditional Italian pasta sauce based on guanciale, pecorino romano cheese, tomato, and, in some variations, onion. Originating from the town of Amatrice, the amatriciana is one of the best known pasta sauces in present-day Roman and Italian cuisine. The Italian government has named it a traditional agro-alimentary product of Lazio and amatriciana tradizionale is registered as a traditional speciality guaranteed in the EU and the UK.
Supplì are Italian snacks consisting of a ball of rice with tomato sauce, typical of Roman cuisine.
Carciofi alla giudìa is among the best-known dishes of Roman Jewish cuisine. The recipe is essentially a deep-fried artichoke, and originated in the Jewish community of Rome, giudìo being the term for Jew in the Romanesco language. It is a speciality of the Roman Ghetto, where it is served by Jewish restaurants in the springtime. In English the dish is usually referred to with the standard Italian spelling carciofi alla giudea; this spelling may be found in Italian sources as well, but the Roman dialect name is much more commonly used.
Spaghetti aglio e olio is a traditional pasta dish from Naples. It is a typical dish of Neapolitan cuisine and is widely popular. Its popularity can be attributed to it being simple to prepare and the fact that it makes use of inexpensive, readily available ingredients that have long shelf lives in a pantry.
Macaroni cheese pie is a casserole dish based on baked macaroni and cheese. Primary ingredients may include elbow macaroni, cheese, and milk.
Cacio e pepe is a typical pasta dish of the Lazio region of Italy. Cacio e pepe means 'cheese and pepper' in several central Italian dialects. In keeping with its name, the dish contains grated pecorino romano and black pepper, together with spaghetti or spaghettini. All the ingredients keep well for a long time, which made the dish practical for shepherds without fixed abode. Rough-surfaced pasta is recommended to make the sauce adhere well.
Carciofi alla romana 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 represents one of the most famous artichoke dishes of the Roman cuisine, another being carciofi alla giudia, a deep-fried artichoke dish that originated in the Jewish community of Rome.
The traditional cuisine of Abruzzo is eclectic, drawing on pastoral, mountain, and coastal cuisine. Staples of Abruzzo cuisine include bread, pasta, meat, fish, cheese, and wine. The isolation which has characterized the region for centuries has ensured the independence of its culinary tradition from those of nearby regions. Local cuisine was widely appreciated in a 2013 survey among foreign tourists.
Stracciatella, also known as stracciatella alla romana, is an Italian soup consisting of meat broth and small shreds of an egg-based mixture, prepared by drizzling the mixture into boiling broth and stirring. It is popular around Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy. A similar soup, called zanzarelli, was described by Martino da Como in his 15th century manual The Art of Cooking. Other variants exist.
The cuisine of Basilicata, or Lucanian cuisine, is the cuisine of the Basilicata region of Italy. It is mainly based on the use of pork and sheep meat, legumes, cereals and vegetables, with the addition of aromas such as hot peppers, powdered raw peppers and horseradish. The local gastronomy is, for historical-cultural reasons, typically peasant, based on simple recipes and on the culture of reuse, in particular of meat and bread.
Pasta 'ncasciata is a celebratory baked pasta dish originating from Messina, Sicily, but today there are many versions from every province of Sicily as well as Calabria, in southern Italy. Ingredients vary according to the region as well as personal preferences. For example, while the dish usually utilizes two types of cheese, besciamella may be used in lieu of one of the cheeses. It was traditionally baked in a dish placed over, as well as covered by, hot coals. The dish was made more well known by Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano.
Provatura or provatura romana is a fresh Italian cheese from Lazio made from buffalo milk by the pasta filata method. It is similar to mozzarella and provola.