Recipes and dishes from Lazio

The cuisine of Latium is characterised by very poor ingredients, and it is no coincidence that this cuisine is said to be the most plebeian in our country. It is an essential cuisine of simple ingredients, made up of strong and tasty flavours. Let's start with a typically Roman appetiser, the supplì.

SUPPLI'

This is one of the traditional recipes of Roman cuisine, also called SUPPLI' al telefono because they are eaten by opening them in half and the mozzarella cheese that comes out forms a thread that reminds one of the old telephone wire and joins the two parts that have split.

Needed for the SUPPLI'

• grams 350 of superfine rice for risottos
• grams 199 of minced veal meat
• grams 180 of tomato puree
• 1 mozzarella
• 2 eggs
• half a glass of wine
• vegetable broth to taste
• salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, oil for frying to taste

Preparation of the SUPPLI'

In a pan put a few tablespoons of olive oil and the minced meat to brown. Add the wine and when it has evaporated completely add the tomato puree. Cook the sauce for about 30 minutes, adding a little vegetable stock from time to time to prevent it from drying out too much.

Adjust the salt and pepper. Add the rice and cook the sauce while continuing to add the vegetable stock. Once cooked, leave to rest for at least an hour. Meanwhile, cut the mozzarella into cubes and beat the eggs.

When the risotto has cooled completely, prepare the supplì, which are slightly elongated balls of rice in which a piece of mozzarella is placed. Dip the supplì in beaten egg and then in breadcrumbs. Fry the supplì in plenty of very hot frying oil until golden brown. Serve hot.

Spaghetti carbonara

Let's now move on to first courses with a recipe known all over the world, spaghetti alla carbonara.

Needed for spaghetti alla carbonara

• grams 400 of spaghetti
• grams 200 of bacon
• 1 whole egg and 3 egg yolks
• grams 50 of grated pecorino romano cheese
• salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation of the spaghetti carbonara

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and as soon as it boils, throw in the spaghetti.

In the meantime, cut the guanciale into strips and fry it in a pan without oil because its fat will melt and sprinkle with a little freshly ground black pepper.

In a bowl break the eggs and put one whole egg and 3 yolks, beat the eggs and add a pinch of pepper and more than half of the grated pecorino romano cheese.

The spaghetti should be removed from the water one minute before cooking al dente and put into the pan with the guanciale. If they seem too dry, add a few tablespoons of the cooking water.

Turn them carefully and finally add the beaten eggs, removing the pan from the heat almost immediately to prevent the egg from congealing. The difficult thing about this recipe is the consistency of the egg, which must not be too runny or too liquid to be perfect. Finish by adding the remaining grated pecorino romano cheese and bring to the table very hot.

Spaghetti all'amatriciana

Another typical first course from Latium known all over the world. It is so called because it was first made in the town of Amatrice in the province of Rieti and the basic ingredients of this recipe are from Amatrice, namely the guanciale (pork cheek) and pecorino (sheep's milk cheese) produced in this town.

What is needed for spaghetti all'amatriciana

• grams 400 of spaghetti i (but you can also use bucatini if you prefer)
• grams 100 of Amatrice bacon
• grams 80 of pecorino cheese from Amatrice or pecorino romano
• grams 450 of peeled chopped tomatoes
• grams 30 of dry white wine
• salt, black pepper and chilli pepper to taste.

Preparation of spaghetti all'amatriciana

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water until al dente.

In a large frying pan put the guanciale cut into strips and brown it until the fat is transparent. Do not add oil because it is produced by the fat of the guanciale.

As soon as the guanciale is golden and crispy remove it from the pan, setting it aside and leaving the fat melted on the bottom of the pan. Add the chopped peeled tomatoes and cook for about 15 minutes, adding 20 to 30 grams of grated pecorino cheese.

Once the pasta is cooked, place it in the pan with the tomatoes, add the guanciale and the remaining pecorino cheese and mix well. Turn off the heat and serve very hot.

Coda alla VACCINARA

One of the typical Roman main courses together with abbacchio, also known all over the world.

Needed for coda alla VACCINARA

• about 1 kg beef tail cut into pieces
• grams 60 of lard
• grams 700 chopped tomatoes
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 celery hearts
• 1 clove of garlic
• a few chopped parsley leaves
• enough meat stock or stock cube
• 10 grams of bitter cocoa powder
• 3 cloves
• sultanas and pine nuts to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation of the VACCINARA tail

In a large saucepan, fry the pieces of beef tail in the lard. Prepare a mince with the carrot and onion and the parsley and add it to the beef tail. Also add the cloves and finely chopped garlic. When the vegetables are golden brown, add the wine and let it evaporate completely for about 30 minutes.

Now add the peeled tomatoes and close the pan with a lid and cook for about 3 hours, adding a little meat stock or stock cube from time to time to prevent it from drying out too much. Adjust the salt and pepper.

The celery hearts should be cut into pieces and boiled for about ten minutes in salted water. When almost cooked, take a few spoonfuls of the sauce, add the pine nuts, bitter cocoa powder, sultanas (which you have first soaked in water for a few minutes and then squeezed out) and the boiled celery pieces and mix everything together over the heat. An excellent pasta sauce will then be ready.

ABBACCHIO Roman style

Ingredients for the ABBACCHIO alla romana

• about 1500 grams of suckling lamb cut into pieces
• 1 glass of white wine
• 1 quarter glass of white wine vinegar
• 3 salted anchovies
• 2 cloves of garlic
• rosemary, sage, salt, pepper and flour to taste

Preparation of ABBACCHIO alla romana

In a very large oven dish, with a few tablespoons of olive oil, brown the pieces of lamb that you have previously mashed in flour. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the lamb pieces are well browned on all sides.

Add the rosemary sprig and the whole garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes. (Both the rosemary and garlic cloves should be removed at the end of the cooking time).

Now add the wine and vinegar and let everything evaporate well for about 20 minutes.

Put half a glass of hot water in the pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 40 minutes, checking from time to time that the sauce does not dry out too much. If it does, add a little hot water.

While the lamb is finishing cooking, take 3 or 4 tablespoons of its cooking juices and put them in a small pan. Add the 3 finely chopped salted anchovies and when they have completely melted, turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the lamb, which you have placed on a serving dish. Serve hot.

Roman style artichokes

A delicious and very well-known side dish from the traditional cuisine of Latium.

Needed for the Roman style artichokes

• 6 artichokes, possibly Mammole or Romanesco artichokes
• 1 clove of garlic
• a bunch of parsley
• a bunch of Roman mint
• 1 lemon
• olive oil and salt to taste

preparation of the artichokes alla romana

Put a quarter cup of olive oil in a rather high pan. Prepare a mixture of chopped garlic, parsley and mint. Clean the artichokes by removing the outer leaves and cutting off the tips and stem.

Only the heart of the artichoke should remain. Slightly squeeze lemon juice over the already cleaned artichokes, this is to prevent them from blackening during cooking. Open the artichokes slightly and put some chopped herbs and a pinch of salt.

Place the artichokes upside down next to each other in the pan. Add a glass of water and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until the water has all been reabsorbed. Serve hot.

MARITTLES with cream

Let us now move on to a typical sweet of traditional Latium cuisine: MARITOZZI con la panna. These are soft sweet rolls with a whipped cream filling. In ancient times they were given to brides-to-be by their betrotheds, who were called by a Roman term of endearment, MARITOZZI . They are delicious at breakfast with a cappuccino or as a snack.

Ingredients for the creamy MARITOZZI

• grams 400 of Manitoba flour
• grams 10 of fresh brewer's yeast
• grams 100 of sugar
• grams 130 of whole milk
• grams 40 of seed oil
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• the peel of a lemon
• the peel of an orange
• grams 300 of whipped cream

Preparation of Maritozzi with cream

Warm the milk and add the sugar and fresh brewer's yeast. Stir and mix well.

In the meantime, make a well in the flour on a pastry board and start working with your hands, slowly adding the milk with the sugar and then the seed oil, the beaten egg and the grated lemon and orange peel.

Knead for about ten minutes until a firm, elastic dough is obtained. Wrap it in cling film and leave it to rise for about 2 hours or until it has doubled in volume.

After this time has elapsed, take the dough ball and, after kneading it briefly, divide it into many small rolls that we will place in a baking tin, spacing them out so that they will rise again. Close the baking tray with cling film and leave to rise for another hour.

Now heat the oven to 180 degrees and brush the rolls with beaten egg yolk. They are now ready to put in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Removed from the oven and allowed to cool, they are then cut in half and filled with whipped cream.