ROME - Recipes
Enjoy cooking and buon appetito!
(The ingredients are for 4 people)
ANTIPASTI / ZUPPE: Pandorato - Supplí alla romana - Brodo pasquale
(Appetizers / soups)
Pandorato
1 loaf of white bread from the day before, 1 ball of mozzarella, 100 g raw ham, 1/8 liter milk, 4 tablespoons flour, 2 eggs, salt, pepper, olive oil, fresh basil
First cut the white bread into 6 thick slices (approx. 2 cm); then cut these slices vertically in the middle so that they are still connected at the bottom. Cut the mozzarella into 6 slices and place them in each piece of bread together with the ham. Press the edges together and dip in the milk until it is absorbed. Then dust with flour. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper and dip the bread in them.
Fry in hot olive oil in a pan and serve warm, garnished with basil.
(Instead of white bread, you can also use slices of toast. For the filling, you can also combine tomato, mozzarella, and ham, for example. Vegetarian variations include mozzarella and artichoke hearts or mozzarella and tomatoes. There is also a well-known version in which the ham is replaced by anchovy fillets).
Supplí alla romana
1.5 liters vegetable or beef broth, 1 onion, butter, 400 g rice, 50 ml white wine, 250 g tomatoes, salt, pepper, 2 eggs, 100 g Parmigiano Reggiano, 1 ball mozzarella, breadcrumbs, oil, tomato sauce
Sauté the diced onion in butter in a pot, sprinkle in the rice and sauté. Then deglaze with the wine. Peel the tomatoes, cut them into small pieces, add them to the rice and simmer for a few minutes. Keep adding the warm broth until the rice is al dente and the broth has completely boiled away. Allow the rice to cool, stir in two eggs and the Parmigiano, and season with salt and pepper. Dice the mozzarella.
Flatten about one tablespoon of rice in your hand, place a cube of mozzarella on top, shape into a croquette, and roll in breadcrumbs.
Fry the rice croquettes in hot oil and serve with warm tomato sauce.
(There are many different variations for the filling; a very popular one is a filling made from minced meat, ham, and dried porcini mushrooms).
Brodo pasquale
1/2 liter beef broth, 1/2 liter lamb broth, 5 egg yolks, 120 g Parmigiano Reggiano, 1 tbsp lemon juice, pepper, fresh marjoram
Heat the beef and lamb broth together. Whisk the egg yolks and gradually stir in the lemon juice and half of the Parmigiano. Pour in the hot broth, stirring constantly. Add pepper to taste. Garnish with the second half of the Parmigiano and the fresh marjoram before serving.
(The marjoram can also be replaced with parsley. Toasted white bread cubes also go very well with this soup.)
PRIMI PIATTI: Fettucine alla romana - Bucatini all'amatriciana
(First courses)
Fettucine alla romana
1 onion, 4 tomatoes, 15 g dried porcini mushrooms, 120 g butter, 200 g chicken liver, 150 ml white wine, 100 ml chicken stock, salt, pepper, 60 g ham, 400 g Fettuccine, 60 g Parmigiano Reggiano, 60 g Pecorino
Dice the onion, sauté in 40 g butter, add the peeled and diced tomatoes. Squeeze out the porcini mushrooms, which have been soaked in warm water, and add to the tomatoes. Simmer briefly and remove from the heat. Melt 40 g butter in a second pan and fry the finely chopped liver. Deglaze with white wine. Remove the liver and keep warm. Pour the chicken stock into the pan, add the tomato and mushroom sauce, simmer for about 15 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Add the liver and ham. Cook the Fettuccine al dente, drain, place in a preheated bowl, and mix with 40 g butter, the Parmigiano, and the Pecorino. Pour the hot sauce over it and serve immediately.
Bucatini all'amatriciana
200 g smoked bacon, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, 300 g tomatoes, 1/2 tsp Peperoncino, salt, pepper, 50 g Pecorino, 500 g Bucatini
Cut the bacon into small cubes and fry in a pan with the hot olive oil. Finely chop the onion, add to the bacon and sauté until translucent. Then add the peeled and finely chopped tomatoes and the finely chopped Peperoncino. Season to taste with salt and pepper. While the sauce is simmering, cook the bucatini al dente in a large pot, drain and add to the sauce. Grate the Pecorino and fold half of it into the pan.
Serve the Bucatini hot and sprinkle with the remaining Pecorino.
(The name of this spicy pasta sauce comes from the small town of Amatrice, where the dish is said to originate. Parmigiano Reggiano can be used instead of Pecorino.)
SECONDI PIATTI: Coda alla vaccinara - Saltimbocca alla romana - Tonno con i piselli
(Second courses)
Coda alla vaccinara
1.5 kg oxtail, salt, pepper, flour, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 450 ml red wine, 2 carrots, 1 bunch of parsley, 1 can of peeled tomatoes, 4 stalks of celery,
Chop the oxtail into small pieces, season with salt and pepper, and coat in flour. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sear the oxtail pieces. Remove the meat and place in a large roasting pan with a lid. Brown the finely chopped onion and garlic clove in the pan and pour in a third of the red wine. Simmer while stirring until the liquid has almost boiled away. Then pour in the rest of the wine, bring to the boil again and pour the mixture over the meat.
Cut the carrots into tiny cubes and add them to the meat together with the finely chopped parsley. Pour the tin of tomatoes over the meat, cover the roasting pan with the lid and braise in a preheated oven at 150 degrees for approx. 2 1/2 hours.
Then wash the celery, cut it into thin slices, add it to the meat and simmer for another quarter of an hour. Finally, season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and serve the meat garnished with parsley.
Saltimbocca alla romana
4 thin veal cutlets, 4 slices of Parma ham, 4 sage leaves, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, 1/8 liter white wine, 2 tablespoons butter
Carefully pound the cutlets flat, top with a slice of ham and a sage leaf, and secure with a wooden toothpick. Fry in hot oil for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove the cutlets and season lightly with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and reduce slightly, then melt 2 tbsp butter in the pan and stir with a whisk. Season the sauce with salt and pepper if necessary.
Before serving, briefly return the Saltimbocca to the hot sauce. Serve on preheated plates.
Serve with crusty white bread and fresh peas.
(Saltimbocca = Italian for “jump in the mouth”)
Tonno con i piselli
4 slices of tuna, 1 kg fresh peas, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 onion, 1 bunch chopped parsley, 1/4 liter white wine, 2-3 tablespoons tomato paste, salt, pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the diced onion and chopped parsley. Remove the peas from their pods and add them to the pan, season with salt and pepper and pour in the white wine. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then stir in the tomato paste. Lightly salt the tuna, add it to the pan and cover again.
Cook the fish on both sides for approx. 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the slices. Finally, season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
This dish is often served with toasted white bread.
(Instead of tomato paste, you can also use several fresh, peeled tomatoes or a can of peeled tomatoes).
DOLCE: Crostata di visciole
(Dessert)
Crostata di visciole
750 g sour cherries, 300 g sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, lemon juice, 300 g flour, 150 g butter, 1 egg, 2 egg yolks, 1 pinch of salt, milk
Pit the cherries, then cook them in a pot with half the sugar, the cinnamon, and a dash of lemon juice until a thick mixture forms.
Mix the flour with the second half of the sugar, then knead in the softened butter, egg, 1 egg yolk, salt, and a dash of lemon juice. If the shortcrust pastry is too dry, add enough milk to make a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in foil and refrigerate for one hour. Grease a round springform pan (28 cm). Roll out 2/3 of the dough on a floured surface, place in the pan and pull up a rim about 5 cm high around the edge. Spread the cherries on top. Roll out the rest of the dough, cut into strips about 1 cm wide, and arrange them in a diamond pattern on the cake. Brush with beaten egg yolk.
Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.