Eating - Rome - page 100

FOOD GLOSSARY
abbacchio al forno - lamb roasted with rosemary and garlic; usually accompanied by rosemary-roasted pota-
toes
agnello alla cacciatora - lamb 'hunter-style' with onion and fresh tomatoes
baccalà - salted cod, often served deep-fried in the Roman-Jewish tradition
bresaola - wind-dried beef, a feature of Roman-Jewish cuisine; served as a replacement for prosciutto (ham)
bruschette - grilled bread rubbed with garlic, splashed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, most commonly
then topped by tomatoes
bucatini all'amatriciana - thick spaghetti with tomato sauce, onions, pancetta, cheese and chilli; originated in
Amatrice, a town east of Rome, as an adaptation of spaghetti alla gricia
cacio e pepe - pasta mixed with freshly grated pecorino romano (a sharp, salty, sheep's milk cheese), ground
black pepper and a dash of olive oil
carciofi alla giudia - deep-fried 'Jewish-style' artichokes; the heart is soft and succulent, the leaves taste like
delicious crisps
carciofi alla romana - artichokes boiled with oil, garlic and mint
coda alla vaccinara - beef tail stewed with garlic, parsley, onion, carrots, celery and spices; a dish developed
when abattoir workers received the cheapest cuts of meat
fiori di zucca - courgette flowers, usually stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies and fried
frutti di mare - seafood; usually served as a sauce with pasta, comprising tomatoes, clams, mussels and per-
haps prawns and calamari
gnocchi alla romana - semolina-based mini-dumplings baked with ragù or tomato sugo ; traditionally served
on Thursdays
involtini - thin slices of veal or beef, rolled up with sage or sometimes vegetables and mozzarella
minestra di arzilla con pasta e broccoli - skate soup with pasta and broccoli; Roman-Jewish dish served only
at the most traditional restaurants
pasta con lenticchie - popular local dish of pasta with lentils
pasta e ceci - pasta with chickpeas; warms the cockles in winter
pizza bianca - 'white pizza' unique to Rome; a plain pizza brushed with salt, olive oil and often rosemary; can
split and fill to make a sandwich
pollo alla romana - chicken cooked in butter, marjoram, garlic, white wine and tomatoes or peppers
polpette al sugo - meatballs served with traditional tomato sauce
porchetta - a hog roasted on a spit with herbs and an abundance of finocchio selvatico (wild fennel); the best
comes from Ariccia, in the hills south of Rome
ragù - classic Italian meat sauce traditionally made by slowly stewing cuts of meat, or mince, in a rich tomato
sugo
rigatoni alla pajata - thick ridged pasta tubes with the small intestine of a milk-fed calf or lamb; a Testaccio
speciality
saltimbocca alla romana - the deliciously named 'leap in the mouth'; a veal cutlet jazzed up with sparing
amounts of prosciutto and sage
spaghetti alla carbonara - sauce of egg, cheese and guanciale (cured pig's cheek); the egg is added raw, and
stirred into the hot pasta to cook it
spaghetti alla gricia - pasta with pecorino , black pepper and pancetta or guanciale ;
spaghetti con le vongole - spaghetti with clams and a dash of red chilli to pep things up; sometimes served
with tomatoes, sometimes without