Eating Rome {A Cookbook Review + Recipe)

I have been following Elizabeth Minchilli's blog for quite awhile now. It's always the perfect site to visit when I want a virtual moment in Rome.

About this time four years ago, I was reluctantly planning my first trip to Rome, a city which held very little appeal for me. I assumed it was just another big European city with little or no charm.

Mark has been several times, and studied there for a semester in college. He was so excited that we were going; he couldn't wait to show me his Rome, and relive his memories. He knew I wasn't over-the-moon about it, but he was confident I would like it.

Beyond liking it, I loved it - more than I ever dreamed!

When I was offered an I opportunity to review Elizabeth Minchilli's new book, Eating Rome, I didn't even think twice. I knew her writing from a book we bought when considering a move to Italy: Restoring a Home in Italy.

I start my review by saying that this book, Eating Rome, while a guide for Rome, is an excellent read for anyone considering their first - or fourth or tenth Italy trip. More important to me than the recipes and beautiful photos is her guide to being there, and her advice is easily applicable to most places in Italy.

The book contains all the basics: How and when to order coffee, and why they do it that way. How to pay for it and then order. Why you knock it back standing at the counter, and don't take it to a table. And the cardinal rule: never order cappuccino (or other dairy-laden coffee drinks) after noon.

She warns us never to eat on the streets unless: (a) you are seated at a caffè table; (b) you just bought a slice of pizza bianco; or (c) you have a gelato (cone or cup) in hand.

The book includes what Italians eat (or don't eat) for breakfast, behavior in trattorie, how to stock your pantry like a Roman, and how to shop in the markets. (And why the phrase  «Non toccare!» - Don't touch! - is important to know.)

Some of her lessons I learned on my own, not knowing I was even learning lessons. To me, it is instinct that when I find a fruttivendolo (fruit and vegetable seller) whom I like - whether in Rome or Tucson - I return daily/weekly to forge a relationship, and would never "cheat" on her/him unless THEY suggest I go elsewhere for something they dont have. It's true - in the market and even restaurants. Mark had told me that if you return, you honor them with your patronage, and your service and produce will only get better.

"Our" fruit and vegetable dealer at the Campo dei Fiori.
It is a fun book to read and, with every page, I am transported to my one, all-too-short week in the Eternal City.

Okay... on to the recipes. Having discovered I love Roman cuisine, I want to make all the recipes in this book. Well, most of them anyway. There are some ingredients that will be hard to come by in Tucson. Lamb's pluck, for instance - the lung, liver, and heart of the lamb - will not be readily available at Trader Joe's.

As of this post, I have already made three recipes from this book: the tagliolini al limone; osso buco (Roman-style); and her Amor Polenta, a breakfast cake. Several of her recipes are already in my regular repertoire of Roman pasta dishes - spaghetti alla Carbonara, spaghetti cacio e pepe, and orecchiette con cima di rape. Her recipes are simple, elegantly presented, and - above all - authentic. A note to bakers: she gives both gram and cup measures for her baked goods. I tested both measurements and found they were not always eye-to-eye. I used my instincts when deciding which measurement to follow.

On the subject of pasta, Minchilli tells us she doesn't actually make her own. If she needs fresh, she can find it in her neighborhood. Lucky her! Besides, she tells us, most iconic Roman dishes call for dried pastas. She tells us that, for Carbonara and cacio e pepe, she prefers to use penne or rigatoni; my sources for traditional Roman cuisine indicate spaghetti when making these two dishes. Really, you can use any form of pasta you like... just don't tell Nonna!

My one wish for the book? More photos - of the food and, of course, life in Rome. And that just makes me want to go back all the more.

Eating Rome is a delightful, beautiful, helpful, and deliciously fresh memoir of an expat living abroad. I finished the book feeling that I had just had gelato with Minchilli. Maybe, someday, I will.


Eating Rome, published this month (April 2015) by St. Martin's Griffin, is available on Amazon. I was sent a review copy by the publisher for my honest opinion of the book.

~ David

Tagliolini al Limone
Elizabeth Minchilli, Eating Rome

6 tablespoons (80 grams) unsalted butter
finely grated zest of 2 large untreated lemons
1 pound (500 grams) fresh tagliolini (recipe follows)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in a sauté pan large enough to hold the cooked pasta. Add the lemon zest and heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook just until it is almost done; the pasta will continue to cook as you dress it.

Place the pan with the butter back on the heat and, using tongs, lift the pasta out of the water and into the pan with the butter. Stir to combine and gradually add the heavy cream, letting it thicken slightly. If it gets too thick, use a bit of the pasta water to thin it out. Serve in heated bowls, topped with parsley.

Serves 4.

Homemade Pasta 
(my own recipe)

If you cant find fresh pasta for sale, it is easy enough to make. This recipe makes enough for 4 as a main course, and 8 as a first course. For todays post, I made a half batch to serve 2 or 4.

2 cups "00" flour, plus extra as needed
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Place flour on the counter and make a well in the center. Crack in the eggs and, using a fork, beat the eggs as if making scrambled eggs. Little by little, beat in the "wall of flour" until you have a very sticky dough. At this point, abandon the fork and use your hands to finish. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a firm but pliable dough. Knead for several minutes, then wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for 20-30 minutes. This resting period allows for the gluten to develop.

When ready to roll, cut the ball of dough into 4 pieces. You will notice that the dough is moister after resting. Take one piece and re-wrap the others until you are ready to use them. Flatten the piece into a squarish shape. Dust lightly with flour. Roll the piece through the rollers of a pasta machine at its widest setting. Fold in thirds and roll again at the same setting. Fold in half and roll one more time at the widest setting, feeding the fold end into the rollers first. Change the setting on the machine to one setting narrower. Roll the pasta through. Dust with flour whenever necessary. Continue rolling, making the setting narrower each time until you are at the second-to-last setting. Set your strip of pasta onto a floured board. Repeat this process for the remaining three pieces of dough.

Change to the rollers for cutting the pasta, and cut all four pieces of dough into tagliolini. Dust them with flour and set them on the floured counter to dry for a few minutes. I tend to "tousle" them now and then to make sure they aren't sticking to one another.


This pasta cooks in about 3 minutes.


"Rome will remain eternally within me."
(It should be rimarrai... I love typos in graffiti!)

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