Our Blogger: Diana

Jewish Community in Rome dates back to the 1^st Century BC and the Roman Jewish Ghetto is one of the most fascinating areas in the city, located along the Tiber (“Trastevere”). It got its origins during the period of Inquisition when Pope Paul IV in 1555 confined the community in a small area, which took its name after the Jewish quarter in Venice.

Jewish Kitchen: the main pillars.

“Kashrut” is the term used to indicate the Jewish dietary laws resulting from Torah’s Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Further details were set down orally.

The main principles are the following:

Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere Walks

- pork and shellfish are forbidden;

- meat and dairy are not combined (two sets of utensils are used and ingredients are stored in two different fridges)

- meat must be ritually slaughtered (shochet) and blood completely removed.

Non kosher food is called “treif”.

La taverna del ghetto.

Hungry after a promenade in Trastevere ? La Taverna del Ghetto in Rome is a delicious option if you want to taste the true Jewish Romanesca in the respect of the culinary tradition. Located in the beautiful panorama of the Portico d’Ottavia, a temple the Emperor Augustus dedicated to his sister, this restaurant serves home-made pasta and genuinely cooked meat and fish.

LA TAVERNA DEL GHETTO- Directions: It will take only 20 minutes from our lovely YES Hotel, strategically located near the Termini station, by only one BUS H, which will bring you in the heart of Trastevere.

Via del Portico di Ottavia 8

Closed Friday Evenings

This time we will illustrate partially what regards the happennings on the table (What happened under the table we leave it freely to your immagination). Therefore,  some information about  Roman dishes of this period.

Enjoy ancient secrets from ancient cooking:

PEPONES ET MELONES (Water and Honey Melons) 
Ingredients:
————
1/2       honey melon – both peeled, diced  
1/2       water melon – and stoned
500ml     Passum
a little bit of honey (or Passum)
1 tblsp   minced parsley
1/2 tsp   freshly ground pepper
a little bit of Liquamen, or a dash of salt
Poleiminze, Silphium, vinegar, if wanted

Instructions:
————-
Cook diced melons in a pan together with spices and herbs until done.
Sometimes Silphium is added.

PATINA DE PISCICULIS (Soufflee of Small Fish)
Ingredients:
————
500g      boiled fillet of small fish or whole sardelles
150g      dried raisins (sultanas)
1/2 tsp   freshly ground pepper
1 tblsp   Liebstoeckl
1 tblsp   oregano
2         small diced onions
200ml     oil
50ml      Liquamen, or 1/2 tsp salt
some cornstarch

Instructions:
————-
Mix raisins, pepper, Liebstoeckl, oregano, onion, wine, Liquamen and oil
together and put in a casserole. Cook until done. Then put small boiled
fish fillets or boiled small whole fishes into it. Thicken with a bit of
cornstarch and serve it!

  (Pear Soufflee)
Ingredients:
————
1kg       pears (peeled and without core)
6         eggs
4 tblsp   honey
100ml     Passum
a little bit oil
50ml      Liquamen, or 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp   ground cumin
ground pepper to taste

Instructions:
————-
Mesh cooked and peeled pears (without core) together with pepper,cumin,
honey, Passum, Liquamen and a bit of oil. Add eggs and put into a
casserole. Cook approximately 30 minutes on small to moderate heat.
Serve with a bitt of pepper sprinkled on the soufflee.

I hope you really enjoyed my virtual Master classes of ancient Roman cooking. But this is just the beginning and we will certainly continue in future.

If you decide to stay in Rome and enjoy its enogastronomical variety, do not hesitate to book our lovely Lucci Hotel, and nearby you will find a nice Roman hosteria A ME MI PIACE, which has tons of specialities and surprises for you!

Antico Forno & Restaurant Roscioli
For decades Marco Roscioli has produced the best bread, as well as one of the best white pizza of Rome, along with the Rome Pizzeria del Secolo. Today his two sons, Pierluigi and Alessandro have opened, in addition to the existing bakery, a modern chic Rome wine-bar and small gourmet-store, with a small restaurant in the back area.

Alessandro is a connoisseur of cheese, salamis and oils, as well as of Italian wines and French wines. Pierluigi is an assistant professor in professional bakery in the school of cuisine “A Tavola con lo Chef� (Eating with the chef) and is in charge of the production and of the relations with the clients.

Apart of a huge selection of excellent salamis, regional cheeses, you can taste in this special culinary corner various specialities, like tasteful soups, home-made pasta, carpaccio, tartars of meat and fish, as well as spectacular italian desserts also home-made, that you may want to accompany with a good italian spumante or limoncello ! All the ingredients are super fresh and selected with special care: fish, for instance, arrives every evening after the closure of auction in Anzio and in Civitavecchia.

This exclusive wine-bar is located in the heart of Rome, right next to Campo dè Fiori and the French Embassy in Rome and to Cinema Farnese. Via dei Giubbonari 21, Rome Telephone: (06) 6875287
Book now your stay in Rome in our discounted hotel Rome MyHotel, and do not wait to book a spot at Roscioli’s Wine-Bar, this place is always full!

 

 

One of the many interesting topics in Rome is about food, and ancient Rome had plenty of mouth watering recipes and traditions, which you will still find in some typical rome restaurants.

At the time there already were 3 meals during the day : ientaculum, prandium and cena. The first two meals were fast and simple and people did not even bother to wash their hands or set a proper table. However the cena (which nowadays means dinner) was held after coming back from the baths and usually took place after 2pm and until the sunrise of the morning after. During some periods of time dinner was served in the atrium by the fire heath and later on the meals would take place in the cosier and larger areas such as cenaculum (dinner room). Obviously nowadays wining and dining out is a little  less elaborate….

The picture that probably bumps into your mind is that of a roman eating on a bed : indeed, during the Empire this habit of eating on triclinium started. The triclinium was a large bed usually made of wood with a mattress and pillows on top, leaning towards the table where food was set.

 

 

The dinner was arranged in 3 steps : appetizers (gustatio) followed by a 7 course meal (fercula) and eventually the guests would move to a clean room with another triclinium, where they would toast to some friend’s and drink as many cups (not glasses !) of a mix of wine and water. Obviously this would mean ingesting lots of food and drink and therefore emperor Claudius made it legal to break winds during the cena. And indeed for food and wine lovers a wine tasting tour while in Rome is a must.

The ancient roman cooking was elaborate and they would also take care of the look too to please both eyes and palate.

As an aperitif which would be drank before starting the meal a light wine would be sweetened with noney and served with the libum (ricotta bread) .Nowadays you can still find the Lasagna which originally was known as Lagana, and the Sicilian Cassata is renowned still .

 

 

 

 So we were about to see the museum with all the art inside until………………signs notifying us dashed my hopes. The museum was full. No more tickets were available. Oh well we decided to go to Villa Giulia instead. This museum which used to be the [tag]villa of pope Julius III[/tag] houses an immense collection of statues, vases and other various items made from terracotta and especially of [tag]Etruscan[/tag] origin. There are also many bronze articles on display and my favourite bit in this museum like all the others was looking at all the stuff made from gold.

 The villa also has gardens which are shaded and a few small fountains. The one at the entrance is home to a family of turtles. After the museum I had built up a bit of an appetite from all the walking around so I decided to go to Fassi. This is another fantastic gelateria and the ice cream is absolutely amazing. They also have other sweet stuff on sale besides the ice cream. Tiramisu and some other really yummy looking cakes are on sale too. The prices are pretty fair for what you are getting. My ice cream was a small and it only cost € 1.50 I got three flavours and I could have had a dollop of cream too but I decided that the ice cream was enough.

 We then set off to a pasticceria. This one is also located near [tag]Piazza Vittorio[/tag]. I highly recommend getting a Bavaresi and anything stuffed with cream and ricotta cheese. This great pasticeriais located on Via di Statuto. The prices are very good and the quality of the dolce is excellent.

 

 

 

If you love Rome or if you would like to visit the ethernal city this is the right place for you