Roman Recipes

  Roasted Red Peppers is one of those recipes that is so simple I’m not sure it can even qualify as a “recipe” per se. But it is a skill that is fundamental to Italian cuisine and therefore worth sharing. American food writer Laurie Colwin wrote a wonderful essay on the virtues of the red pepper [...]

Campari spritz – A spritz is a glass of prosecco or other slightly fizzy white wine (in Emilia-Romagna they often use Pignoletto) with a liquor. Campari is the classic choice – with a bright pink flamingo color that belies a strong bitter taste. Aperol spritz – For those who find Campari a bit much to [...]

Winter has finally arrived in Rome. The sun is still shining and the sky is still blue but the temperature has dropped and a sharp, December wind has arrived. It is time for soup. I recently shared one of my favorite Roman soups which is perfect for a light supper or when you’re just coming [...]

Italian cuisine is full of intricate rules that can bewilder foreigners. Here are 5 rules of  Italian food culture that will help you order like an Italian while in Italy and eat like an Italian while at home: 1. No cheese on seafood pasta – This is one of those habits that differentiates Italian cuisine [...]

  Stracciatella is one of the most classic dishes of Roman cuisine yet you hardly ever see it on a trattoria menu. Why? One Italian friend claimed you should only eat it at Christmastime. Another said that his mother ate it weekly as a child but now preferred pasta or other richer dishes. It is [...]

Re di Roma is a residential neighborhood of Rome that sprung up in the second half of the 20th century, long after the Colosseum or Trevi’s Fountain. Linea A of the Metro stops here and the streets have tall concrete buildings filled with small, affordable shops. Tourists don’t come to this part of Rome and [...]

Few vegetables are as central to Roman cuisine as the round, prickly artichoke. My first weeks in Rome I visited the Ara Pacis. One of the most intact monuments remaining from Ancient Rome, the sides are covered with elaborate horticultural carvings. One of these plants looked familiar – there on the side of a 2000 [...]