CMYKDiscover Rome’s incredible food through the city’s stories and its people. The Eternal City is a maze of winding cobblestone streets, where ancient history waits at every turn. Within these storied laneways, Rome’s culinary traditions are honoured and transformed by local chefs, pizza makers, cheesemongers, butchers, wine experts, bakers and more – who make Rome one of the great food capitals of the world. Visit the places where Romans eat every day, from the trattoria to the home kitchen, through the dishes that define these locations. With 70 recipes shared by iconic eateries, chefs, and Maria’s family and friends, The Eternal City is a love letter to Rome that takes you past the monuments, and into the lives of modern-day Romans. This is an invitation to their tables. Embrace la dolce vita and pull up a chair. US $35 | $47 CAN | £26 UK ISBN 978-1-9227-5427-1 PMS 4012 CPMS 169 CTh e Eternal Ci ty THEETERNALCITY_COVER_ME.indd 1THEETERNALCITY_COVER_ME.indd 116/9/2022 5:21 pm16/9/2022 5:21 pm30 The Eternal CityLa Trattoria 31 1. To make the gnocchi, rinse the whole, unpeeled potatoes and place them in a large saucepan of cold water with a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and cook at a rapid boil for about 30 minutes, or until just tender. Drain and leave to cool slightly, then remove the skins. 2. Mash the potatoes and mix together in a bowl with the beaten egg, flour, nutmeg and parmigiano. On a bench, knead with your hands to obtain a smooth dough. If the mixture is too sticky, add a little more flour; if it is too dry add a splash of water. 3. Divide the dough into four pieces and roll each into a long sausage shape, about 2 cm (3/4 in) thick. With a sharp knife, cut the logs into pieces about 2 cm (3/4 in) long, to make little square pillows. Place the gnocchi on a tray dusted with flour and sprinkle with a little more flour. Set aside while you prepare the sauce. 4. Rinse the mussels and remove the hairy beards; discard any that are broken or open. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and gently fry the garlic until soft. Add the mussels and cover. Cook over high heat for 4–5 minutes, or until they begin to open. 5. When all the mussels have opened, turn off the heat, remove the mussels from the pan and strain the remaining juices through a fine sieve, adding the strained juices back to the pan. Remove the shells from all but 24 mussels. Put all the mussels back into the sauce and reheat over medium heat. 6. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Slowly add all the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook for about 1–2 minutes, until they rise back up to the surface. 7. Scoop out the gnocchi using a slotted spoon and add to the mussels. Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley. 8. Serve each dish topped with six mussels still in their shells, and a generous sprinkling of pecorino. Serves 4 1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) mussels 100 ml (3½ fl oz) olive oil 2 garlic cloves, peeled 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped 100 g (3½ oz) Pecorino Romano, grated Gnocchi 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) floury/boiling potatoes 1 egg, beaten 250 g (12/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano By ANGELO PREZIOSI Gnocchi Cozze e Pecorino Gnocchi with mussels and pecorino Many food purists say seafood and cheese don’t mix. In my family, you never saw cheese on the table if pasta with fish was being served, and in Italy, if you were to ask for it at a restaurant after having ordered spaghetti alle vongole or risotto alla crema di scampi, you’d just about get arrested. Yet, the memo seems to have been missed with this dish in Rome. Gnocchi with mussels and pecorino is on the menu at many Roman trattorie, and it’s some sort of a divine match. My friend Angelo’s gnocchi – his paternal Nonna Stella’s recipe – is just perfect. He’d come home from school at lunchtime and she would ask what he’d like to eat. When he said gnocchi, she would roll up her sleeves and make them from scratch. You can match Angelo’s gnocchi recipe with any sauce you like, especially left-over sauce from your coda alla vaccinara (see page 169), which is one of my favourites. Gnocchi a delicious dish any day of the week, but why not do as the Romans do and make Thursdays ‘gnocchi day’ at your house too!94 The Eternal CityIl Forno 95 Note: Instead of jam, it is common to make this crostata with fresh black cherries. 1. To make the pastry, add all the ingredients to a food processor and mix until a dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead a little and form into a flat disc, adding a little extra flour if the dough is sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 2. Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). 3. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 24 cm (9½ in) tart tin, reserving the left-over dough to make a lattice topping. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, but don’t trim the pastry edge just yet. 4. Spoon the cherry jam into the tart tin, smoothing it evenly over the pastry. 5. In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, sugar, eggs and Sambuca until well combined. Gently spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the jam. 6. Roll out the reserved pastry, cut it into even strips, and lay them in a criss-cross fashion on top of the filling. Press the pastry ends into the pastry border, then use a sharp knife to trim away all the overlapping pastry. 7. Lightly beat together the egg yolk and milk, then brush it over the pastry strips and border with a pastry brush. 8. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly golden and the ricotta has set. 9. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and dust with icing sugar before serving. Serves 8–10 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoon milk icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting Pastry 300 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting 150 g (5½ oz) cold butter, chopped 150 g (5½ oz) sugar 2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk zest of 1 lemon Filling 300 g (10½ oz) jar of sour cherry jam 400 g (14 oz) sheep’s milk ricotta 80 g (23/4 oz) sugar 2 eggs 1 tablespoon Sambuca By TONI BRANCATISANO Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole Ricotta and sour cherry tart A sweet, simple pleasure, this ricotta and black cherry (or sour cherry) tart has its origins in Rome’s Jewish Ghetto, but is now a crowd-pleaser on trattoria menus across the city. One of the best places to try it in Rome is at Boccione, the famous Jewish bakery in Via del Portico d’Ottavia, because theirs is said to be the original recipe, dating back to the 18th century when papal law banned Jews from trading dairy products. The crostata became a loophole for bakers who began hiding ricotta between layers of pastry and cherries. Boccione didn’t share the recipe with me because it has never left their premises. But Toni’s version honours the classic and is testament to her excellent baking skills. She is a crostata queen, and hers is just how it should be: crumbly crust, lush jam and lightly sweetened ricotta.140 The Eternal CityIl Mercato 141 1. Fillet the scorpion fish – or ask your fishmonger to do this – and put the fillets in a bowl with the oregano. Pour over the wine and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, mix gently and set aside. 2. Peel the tomatoes by scoring a cross on the bottom of each one, put them in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 30 seconds, then move them to a bowl of cold water and remove the skins by peeling away from the cross. Cut the tomatoes in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Chop the tomatoes and set aside. 3. Gently heat the remaining oil in a frying pan with the garlic for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and a little salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes. Add the fish fillets, along with their marinade. Cover and continue to cook over medium–low heat for 10 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, make the crostini. Toast the bread, rub with the garlic clove, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and the parsley. 5. Serve the fish stew in bowls, with the crostini to soak up the sauce. Serves 4 Fish 6 x 150 g (5½ oz) scorpion fish, or 800 g (1 lb 12 oz) fish fillets 3 oregano sprigs 50 ml (1¾ fl oz) dry white wine 75 ml (2½ fl oz) extra virgin olive oil 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) tomatoes 1 garlic glove, crushed Crostini 12 slices rustic bread 1 garlic clove, peeled extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped By FEDERICO DELMONTE, RISTORANTE ACCIUGA Pesce in Guazzetto Fish stew Federico Delmonte is a talented chef from Italy’s Le Marche region, and the dishes he creates at his very own stylish Acciuga in Rome’s Prati district are quite delicate in flavour. This recipe – fish fillets cooked in a tomato and white wine sauce – is the same in that he doesn’t play around too much with herbs, but throws in just the right amount to keep it simple. Guazzetto is tricky to describe; it contains a lot of liquid (hence the chef’s suggestion to serve with freshly toasted bread), but it’s not really a soup. If you can’t find scorpion fish, any meaty fish such as monkfish, snapper, bream, swordfish or mullet are good alternatives.Next >