Roman cuisine
Introduction '''Roman cuisine''' comes from the Italian city of Rome. It features fresh, seasonal and simply-prepared ingredients from the Roman Campagna. These include peas, globe artichokes 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'' ("ice cream") and handmade chocolates and candies. 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.
History Classic Roman ''spaghetti alla carbonara''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. 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), Jewish courgettes and the ''pizza dolce di Beridde''.
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). ''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), 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. Frascati and Castelli Romani have been called the best ones in the city.
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  Name  Image Description ''Abbacchio alla romana''  120px  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. ''Bucatini all'amatriciana''  120px  pasta dish with tomato sauce, ''guanciale'', and grated ''pecorino romano''''Bruschetta''  120px  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''  120px  pasta dish with a sauce made with black pepper and grated ''pecorino romano''  ''Carciofi alla romana''  120px  whole artichokes filled with minced garlic and parsley and cooked in olive oil ''Carciofi alla giudia'' (Jewish-style artichokes)   120px  whole artichokes deep-fried in olive oil ''Coda alla vaccinara''  120px  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''  120px  tart made with ricotta, sometimes flavored with lemons (or oranges) and Marsala wine ''Fiori di zucca''  120px  zucchini flowers filled with mozzarella and anchovies, battered and deep-fried''Gnocchi alla romana''  120px  oven-baked semolina ''gnocchi''''Maritozzi''  120px  a split brioche roll filled with cream''Pasta alla gricia''  120px  pasta dish with a sauce made with guanciale, black pepper and grated ''pecorino romano''''Penne all'arrabbiata''  120px  pasta dish with a sauce made from garlic, tomatoes and dried red chili peppers, cooked in olive oil''Rigatoni con la pajata''  120px  pasta dish with a sauce made with ringed intestines of a milk-fed veal and ''pecorino romano''''Saltimbocca alla romana''  120px  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'. ''Scaloppine alla romana''  120px  veal sautéed with fresh baby artichokes''Spaghetti alla carbonara''  120px  pasta dish with a sauce made with egg yolks, guanciale, black pepper and grated ''pecorino romano''''Supplì''  120px  fried rice croquettes, either filled with beef ragout and mozzarella, or chicken giblets, mincemeat and ''provatura'' ''Trippa alla romana''  120px  tripe cooked with tomato sauce, pennyroyal, chilli pepper, cloves, laurel, celery, carrots and onions and topped with ''pecorino romano''
See also * Italian cuisine
References
Bibliography * * * *