The Cooking and Cuisine of Lazio

[kanljung]

I had a bit of good luck yesterday:  the used bookstore had a good copy of David Downie's book.  Now, I just need time to cook.

April

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I had planned to get this book for this month. It turned out that Amazon UK couldn't deliver it so I ended up ordering Mario Batali's Molto Italiano instead. After all praise he's received in this forum, I was very curious on how a book by him would be. The book really lived up to my expectations and appropriately enough it contains a lot of the Roman "classics".

I started out exploring this book with a meal consisting of saltimbocca alla romana, broccoli slowly braised in white way (apparently a roman way of doing things). To have some starch to go with this a made a torta alla patate from the book which may not be a really Roman thing but it was very good anyway.

Mario's recipe for saltimbocca were different from other ones I've seen earlier on a couple of points. Firstly, the way he uses butter instead of oil and secondly the way the flattened cutlets are folded. The results:

Unfortunately the saltimbocca sauce split in the last moment as my son had dragged his chair dangerously near the stove.

[Eden]

I got a complaint that it wasn't really cohesive as a dish, it was like the lamb & artichoke were both in the pie, but didn't have much to do with one another. 

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At a POTLUCK?! Grrr. Don't get me started on potlucks . . .

No no, when I go to potlucks it's usually with amazing fellow cooks who have very good palates. (and the comment came from my husband ) Other offerings last night included Armandino's lamb prosciutto , home-made madeleines, and an experimental chicken saltimboca with a picatta like sauce that was quite tasty.

I did cook the cardoons for nearly an hour per Mario's instructions, so they were soft, and I liked the flavor (perhaps the nutmeg in the besciamella masks the metalic taste the rest of you have experienced? but the stringyness was unpleasant...

I have leftover artichokes so I may have to try cooking them alla romana - great suggestion!

[hathor]

I have leftover artichokes so I may have to try cooking them alla romana - great suggestion!

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Who ever has leftover artichokes??

Lets see, last month's obsession was frico. Its looking like artichokes this month!

[hathor]

Ciao tutti. I usually write a little geographical and historical piece introducing each region. I thought I would challenge myself this time, and research Lazio without a focus on Rome. There is such an abundance of information of information on Rome, it seemed unnecessary.

I wondered, what about the roads that don’t lead to Rome?

The region of Lazio is on the west coast of central Italy, bordered by the Thyrrenian Sea, Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Molise and Campania. This area was called Lazio or Latium even before the birth of Rome. It is comprised of 5 provinces: Frosinonoe, Latina, Rieti, Roma and Viterbo. Over half the population of Lazio live in Rome.

In the province of Riete are the Sabine Hills in the north east portion of Lazio, bordering on Umbria and Abruzzo. The village of Rieti was an important site for the people of the Sabine nation, as it lay on the Via Salaria; a salt route used by the Sabines to fetch salt from the salt marshes at the mouth of the Tiber river. It is speculated that this trade in salt led to the beginning of the development of Rome. Dating back to 1700 BC in ancient Babylonia, there is mention of the high quality of olive oil from this area. Common olive varieties that thrive in this area, which is more arid than Rome, include: carbonceli, pendolfinio, moraiolo and rosciola.

The province of Frosinone, includes the area known as Ciociara, which is south of Rome and north of Naples. The province of Frosinone proper was created in 1926 out of areas that were previously belonging to Campania, Latina and the Kingdom of Naples and because of this and the proximity to Rome, it does not have a strong cultural identity. However, the area, loosely known as Ciociara has a long and strong cultural heritage. The name derives from “ciocie”, a type of footwear with a double sole that is secured to the foot by turning the laces 12 times around the leg. This area has both cultivated land and pastures. It is known for excellent quality meats such as mutton, goat, poultry, young castrato lamb and a very prized variety of suckling goat that is traditionally slaughtered for Easter. During the cold months, there is a famous type of pork liver sausage flavored with orange peel and bits of apple. Fish come from fresh water lakes and rivers, and at one time the fresh water shrimp were an important product, but now they are quite scarce. These fresh water shrimp were also prized in Riete, but are no longer commonly available. Apparently there is an incredible bean called, “Cannellini di Atini”, where the only flavor description I could find was that you must try it to believe it! The area is also know for zucchini flowers fried with egg, flour and milk, but not stuffed as you might find in Rome.

Viterbo is in northern Lazio and was known by the ancient name of Tuscia romana. The ancient city at one time vied for the Papal seat and even built a papal palace to convince the pope that Viterbo would be a better place to be headquartered than Rome. In 1270, the Holy See had been vacant for 3 years when the bickering French and Italian cardinals were brought to Viterbo to choose a Pope. The burgess confined the cardinals in the palace, and resorted to curtailing their food intake which promptly led to the election of Gregory X. How else do you appeal to bickering French and Italians?

Viterbo claims that the famous ‘acquacotta’ (a vegetable soup incorporating wild herbs such as chicory and mint and hard, stale bread, with a final splash of olive oil) is indigenous to Viterbo, but Frosinone also lays claim to this soup. Typical pastas made only with water and durum flour are Lombrichelli, pasta stracccia and gnocchi col ferro. Other pastas, like fettucini and papardelle are made with egg. The barnyard supplies the chicken and rabbit for cacciatora (pan fried in the manner of the hunter). Another famous regional specialty is “pignattaccia” which is a stew of beef, pork, entrails and vegetables slow cooked in a crock. In this region, fish can either come from the sea, simply prepared by grilling or frying, or from fresh water. Of particular note are the eels of Lago Bolsena.

Another interesting dish, of indistinct origin, is the “Carrots of Viterbo”. Although the original variety of carrot has vanished, the dish is still prepared using the common yellow carrot. The dish appears to have originated in the 15th century and calls for long slices of carrots to be dried in the August sun, then placed in vinegar for a few days. Then the carrots are heated in a mixture of vinegar, sugar, cloves, nutmeg which gets complimented by choices of chocolate, pignoli, dried fruits. The carrots were stored in earthen pots and usually accompanied boiled meats.

To the south of Rome, lies Latina with only a population of half a million. Here you find the beginnings of Southern italy with its bleached countryside, cactus and prickly pears. The Latina area is almost equally divided between mountains and coastal plains. It produces the herb eating Lenola goat which is prized for its delicious flavor. This was an impoverished area where every scrap of food, every fish bone was used, any herb that could be found or even a stone from the sea would be used to flavor a soup.

I leave you now to discover the cuisine of the province of Roma. There are literally mountains of information on the cuisine of Rome. But as dedicated eGulleters, I propose that next April we meet in the province of Roma, in the town of Ladispoli for”La Settimana Gastronomica del Carciofo Romenesco”. What say you?

[Nathan P.]

Another fine history lesson, Hathor.

I stocked up on artichokes at my wednesday farmers market. Bought 18 at the bargain rate of $2 a pound for organic, grown within 20 miles of my house artichokes.

I decided to take a shot at making Carciofi alla Giudia. I've never had this dish but as an artichoke lover I have always been curious and suspected that this would be the peak of all artichoke eating.

And one more bonus shot because these were so good. Like a perfect artichoke heart with artichoke potato chips and lots of extra vigin olive oil flavor. One of the best vegetable dishes I have ever made. I lost a few leaves in the scond frying which is, according to Downie, a sign of some lack of youth or freshness so perhaps this would have been even better the day before. I could have eaten 10 of these tonight.

My second was spaghetti all'amatriciana. I used Rustichella pasta, my guanciale, and san marzanos, chile and pecorino romano. On the ingredients that show up in some recipes, I went:

No Wine

No Garlic

Yes to Onions

One of my favorite pasta dishes- perfect balance of fat, spice and acid. Everything good about rustic southern Italian cooking. I don't think I got a huge pickup with the guanciale vs. pancetta but it was fun to have the authentic touch. Of course I even like this dish with American bacon as long as it is not too sweet and smokey

As I was fairly busy with the previous 2 courses I did a simple main of pork saltimbocca with a side of broccolini cooked with olive oil, garlic and chile flakes. I went with the older version in Downie's book of Marsala and butter. I liked the contrast of the sweetness in the wine with the salty ham in the middle of the meat.

[Anna N]

. . .

I stocked up on artichokes at my wednesday farmers market.  Bought 18 at the bargain rate of $2 a pound for organic, grown within 20 miles of my house artichokes.

. . .

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I have never eaten fresh artichokes but it's not yet 4 AM and I am drooling over your whole meal.

[Kevin72]

Nathan!

Perfectly Roman meal. Like Anna, I was moaning looking at these pics.

So glad you liked the guidea 'chokes. However much of them I make it's never enough. Did you do the double fry or just cook them once?

And the amatriciani sauce, I love the observation that it has the balance of "fat, spice, and acid" . . . all that fat is what makes it!

And Hathor, thanks for the writeup of the other Provinces of Lazio, exactly what we needed.

Edited April 7, 2006 by Kevin72 (log)

[Nathan P.]

Nathan! 

So glad you liked the guidea 'chokes.  However much of them I make it's never enough.  Did you do the double fry or just cook them once?

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Yeah I did a double fry with the second being hotter. I don't know the exact temperature of the oil but it seemed to work well. I used a litre of deCecco's EVOO which seemed fairly priced at $8. So now I have just under a litre of slightly bitter artichoke scented olive oil! Should be fine for roman braised chokes and I think mild enough for another round of fried chokes.

[hathor]

Gorgeous haul at the market Nathan! Just a beautiful meal. Something about working on Lazio and Rome just is making me hungry all the time.

Just a word about the carciofi giudea (sp?). When I've had it or prepared it, you need to trim the artichoke down to the tenderest center part, no stem, and then press it flat. Almost like making it into a Star of David. (get it?) This doesn't effect the flavor any, and I have no worries that yours were completely divine. For me, the hardest part is trimming and losing all that good artichoke, even if I do make an artichoke stock or something out of the trimmings.

[Nathan P.]

Gorgeous haul at the market Nathan! Just a beautiful meal.  Something about working on Lazio and Rome just is making me hungry all the time. 

Just a word about the carciofi giudea (sp?).  When I've had it or prepared it, you need to trim the artichoke down to the tenderest center part, no stem, and then press it flat. Almost like making it into a Star of David. (get it?)  This doesn't effect the flavor any, and I have no worries that yours were completely divine.  For me, the hardest part is trimming and losing all that good artichoke, even if I do make an artichoke stock or something out of the trimmings.

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All of my recipes said to leave the stock on which I thought seemed odd and would make them hard to fry. I compromised by cutting off an inch of stem and leaving the stub. (That inch was of course thrown in the frying oil and eaten as a chef's snack ) I did not want to break the leaves of so I did the first fry with the artichoke in its normal shape. After letting it cool down a bit, I squashed the now softened leaves out to get a more flower/star shape for the second fry. I ended up losing a bunch of leaves at this point so I just tossed these on the plate after I took my pics.

I also chose to skip adding water to the blazing hot oil which seemed insanely dangerous but is supposed to make them crisper. Downie recommends useing a mister and one of my other books says to get your hands wet and drizzle a bit of water in. Anyone courageous/sucker enough to try thisd technique?

[Kevin72]

Hell no. I never understood that. Lawsuit waiting to happen for him to put that in there.

[NYC Mike]

I have been a lurker on these since New Year! Everything looks so GOOD! Since I am learning how to cook over here I have been baby stepping it as I go.

Made Pasta Carbonara for me and the kids tonight, used some really good pancetta. I used the recipe from e-rcps that Pontormo linked. I had to use a fair amount of pasta water to thin the sauce. The egg and cheese mixture was very very thick. Any advice on getting a thiner end product, aside from more water? Very enjoyable for my first Carbonara and a big hit with the kids.

-Mike

[Pan]

One thing that was missing from Hathor's essay on Lazio was any mention of Civitavecchio and Tarquinia. I had a wonderful meal of super-fresh seafood dishes at a restaurant near Tarquinia Scalo in 1998, but what I don't know is whether there are specific dishes of Etruscan parentage or regional tradition in the Tarquinia or Civitavecchio area. Does anyone know?

[Pontormo]

Pan, did your dining companion order fegato by chance? I have also dined in Tarquinia, though I can't remember what I had. I mostly recall the grumbling stomach of the reluctant guide who escorted me from one storm-cellar door to another so I could climb down into tombs too close to his lunch hour.

Etruscans produced Italian wines before the Romans kicked Tarquinius out of Rome in 510/09 BCE. Perhaps the use of farro in certain dishes in Lazio could be traced to Etruscans. The ancient cultures of Etruria and Greece and Rome are so closely intertwined that it might be difficult to separate them in thinking about their influence on contemporary cuisine.

In the burial grounds of Tarquinia, tomb paintings depict reclining diners engaged in eternal banquets, men and women together. The Tomb of the Lioness even includes the symbol of life that associates stracciatella with this time of year: the egg. (On the lid of one very late Etruscan sarcophagus, the sculpted funerary portrait is of reclining deceased diner with a tremendous paunch, a sign of his elevated status.) Here's another related entry; many of the best preserved examples of Ancient Greek pottery come from Etruscan tombs given a strong admiration of all things Greek.

About Italian Cuisuine, a Web site that many of us consult, continues to impress. The author of the entries, Kyle Phillips is the son of an archaeologist who specialized in Etruria, so the subject that interests you is treated in a number of entries. Here is one of three recipes you'll find on the site. Note the bibliographical reference that links Tuscan cooking to Etruria.

[Pontormo]

Nathan and Shaya, this historical entry concerns your beloved vegetable and one that alludes me: click here.

Hathor will recognize one name. I am grateful for her reference to the sixteenth-century figure, Scappi, new to me. Searches on line retrieved maddeningly difficult entries for banquets; the vocabulary is highly specialized, with many words not in any dicitionary I own, though a google-image search helped me discover just how essential the kumquat or melangole was in Roman sauces way back when.

Howeover, for those of you who like the idea of cooking Roman food of the past, a British member of the Society for Creative Anachronism has provided a useful tool, a translation of some of Scappi's feasts. Her name is Louise Smithson and here is the menu from October.

In the meantime, one of Bartolommeo Scappi's simpler dishes: tortelli in brodo.

Edited April 8, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Pontormo]

FYI, I am extremely impressed by this site which provides a great deal of information about Lazio, including the Jewish cooking of Rome. There is a wealth of information, if hard to read in the way that it is formatted. There are also lots of recipes and lists of local products.

Finally, has anyone seen the illustrated guide that the Slow Food movement has published on Italian cheeses? It is organized according to regions of production. My favorite entry for Lazio is for Caciofiore della campagna Romana. The production of this cheese revives an ancient tradition whereby flowers from cardoons are gathered, dried and used to produce the rennet of this sheep's milk cheese.

[hathor]

Great info Pontormo! I need some time to go thru those links. I'm in a Scappi obession mode at the moment.

My research led me to believe the Estrucans were further north than Rome, but I'll go back to my sources again...no, that can't be. I know there is a necropolis right outside of Civitivecchia. Most of the info I've come up with on Civi..linked it very closely with Rome. The guide books mention it as just a passing thru point, and I'll second that. Unless you need to be at the port for a ferry or for some other reason, its not that much fun and there are better places to spend your time. We wound up there a bunch last summer and the thrill wore off ..... But, Viterbo is a fine place to eat and poke around.

[Pontormo]

I don't wish to stray too far from the central focus on Lazio, but Hathor, you're right. Most Etruscan settlements were further north, especially with the colonization of Sicily and Southern Italy by Greeks. However, the rising civilization of Romans competed with Etruria for the area that became the center of its republic and empire; cf. reference to the Etruscan king Tarquinius above. There are two major necropoli directly north of Rome and Ostia, Tarquinia, the source of the first inquiry and place I visited, and Cerveteri, which is in better shape. To get back on topic, I'll just add that the one bibliographic reference above was to Tuscan cooking, the implication being that ties to that region's cuisine and its Etruscan past are studied. I am sure those of us using David Downie's cookbook will pipe up once we see any relevant information.

As far as Bartolommeo Scappi goes, I think it's appropriate to cook at least a few dishes served at the papal court, especially something in 1538 in the presence of Michelangelo when he was working on The Last Judgment fresco on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. I believe there were kumquats in just about every course along with stuffed goat heads and meat jellies and little nun cakes. Interest in cooking the foods of Ancient Rome were already mentioned. This could be fun and I hope you'll share more of what you learned and are learning.

For now, though, I am perfectly content with the present and the beautiful deep purple, almost baby artichokes I found today. I really wanted some suckling lamb to go with them and currently seek an appropriate substitute. I imagine we'll have lots of occasions to cook lamb closer to Easter.

[Pontormo]

I wanted to add a note thanking NYC Mike for becoming a visible presence here. I am very glad your children appreciated your efforts and can look forward to more adventures in the year ahead.

P.S. I would not recommend a thinner sauce. It sounds to me as if your very first carbonara came out perfectly without your realizing it; the egg and cheese mixture should really cling to the pasta, coating it, as opposed to pooling in the bottom of the bowl. Some folk like adding white wine (Marcella Hazan, right?), more fat (can get greasy ), even cream, but these are deviations from perfect simplicity. See my post about the technique David Downie provides & see Cristofer Kanljung's recommendation for adding an egg white for lighter results. Downie also gives what is called a papal version of poor man's carbonara, using fresh egg pasta, Parm Reggiano, cream and prosciutto. I prefer the humbler stuff.

Edited April 9, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Kevin72]

I have been a lurker on these since New Year!  Everything looks so GOOD!  Since I am learning how to cook over here I have been baby stepping it as I go.

Made Pasta Carbonara for me and the kids tonight, used some really good pancetta.  I used the recipe from e-rcps that Pontormo linked.  I had to use a fair amount of pasta water to thin the sauce.  The egg and cheese mixture was very very thick.  Any advice on getting a thiner end product, aside from more water?  Very enjoyable for my first Carbonara and a big hit with the kids. 

-Mike

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Welcome, Mike!

I'd actually go the other direction from Pontormo's recommendation and say add more yolks in proportion to whites: I usually do 1 egg and then 3 yolks instead of three eggs for the recipe. Also, I find that the heat of the pasta, its cooking water, and the pork is more than enough to cook and set the eggs so I don't do it over direct heat at all.

But regardless of what way you go, as she points out, sauce should be more of a glossy coating and not really a "sauce" per se.

[Pontormo]

N.B. For those who keep back issues of Gourmet, look for your copy from March 2003.

The issue is devoted to Rome, so the Sterns do street food and Fred Plotkin contributes a piece. It's what taught me to make cacio e pepe which is actually sounding very, very good now that I am starving and lack much energy. There's Locatelli in the fridge. Ciao.

P.S. I meant to add that in an article on springtime in Rome, Maureen B. Fant suggests using fresh edamame if you can't find fresh fava beans in a recipe she includes; cf. page 79. Since we won't have any for some time, it might be worth a try.

Edited April 9, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Kevin72]

P.S.  I meant to add that in an article on springtime in Rome, Maureen B. Fant suggests using fresh edamame if you can't find fresh fava beans in a recipe she includes; cf. page 79.  Since we won't have any for some time, it might be worth a try.

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Whew! That's what I do!

But, I just found a Middle Eastern grocer literally across the street from my work and they sell frozen, peeled favas.

[Kevin72]

My first meal for Rome was a birthday dinner for some good friends of ours'.

For the antipasto, caramelized fennel with anchovies, chilies, and Sambucca, a Batali recipe:

Got a little heavy-handed with the fronds for garnish, I guess.

The primo was fettuccine Alfredo:

Made in the authentic Roman style, that is, tossed with heavy butter (no cream) and ample cheese. Even though I made it exactly the same as last year, for some reason, this year it wasn't as transcendent. Still good of course, but last year's was one of the best things I've ever made.

The secondo was another Batali recipe, fish (striped bass) with peas, scallions, and mint:

It's funny; I've been cooking for these friends for years, and when they tasted the peas they asked if this was another Mario recipe. I guess that slowly braised vegetable with olive oil and mint has become kind of a signature flavor for his style. The peas took on some of the fish flavor and juices and became sweet and buttery.

Dessert was tiramisu:

I forgot the chocolate chunks in this one and only dusted it with cocoa powder, yet the feedback was that this may have been my best version.

[NYC Mike]

See my post about the technique David Downie provides & see Cristofer Kanljung's recommendation for adding an egg white for lighter results. Downie also gives what is called a papal version of poor man's carbonara, using fresh egg pasta, Parm Reggiano, cream and prosciutto. I prefer the humbler stuff.

I'd actually go the other direction from Pontormo's recommendation and say add more yolks in proportion to whites: I usually do 1 egg and then 3 yolks instead of three eggs for the recipe. Also, I find that the heat of the pasta, its cooking water, and the pork is more than enough to cook and set the eggs so I don't do it over direct heat at all.

Thanks to you both for the variations and the warm welcome! While it wasn't my first time eating it, it was my first time making it myself and it sounds like I got it right!! It sure tasted good.

Next I think I will try Saltimboca.

-Mike

PS. Sorry about the cell phone pic, I really need to get a digi camera!

[Pontormo]

The secondo was another Batali recipe, fish (striped bass) with peas, scallions, and mint:

It's funny; I've been cooking for these friends for years, and when they tasted the peas they asked if this was another Mario recipe.  I guess that slowly braised vegetable with olive oil and mint has become kind of a signature flavor for his style.  The peas took on some of the fish flavor and juices and became sweet and buttery.

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What a happy birthday! Are those fresh English peas that you shelled yourself? The ones on the east coast usually disappoint. These look delicious.