When in Rome…
Posted: February 16, 2012 Filed under: Lazio, Regional Cuisine | Tags: cheese, food, Italian Cooking, Italian Food, italian recipes, italy, Lazio, Pasta, Rome, spaghetti, Vegetarian Leave a comment »…do as the Romans do.
Rome is one of my favourite cities in the world. I love to visit it, and never get tired of walking around looking at the architecture, discovering pretty corners and eating ice-cream. I swear there are more ice cream shops per square kilometer in Rome than anywhere else on the planet – there’s another one every few metres, and they all have hundreds of different flavours to choose from… I’ll have to arrange a visit to Rome so that I can take some ice cream pics!
The first time I went to Rome I don’t think I really knew what to expect. I had recently turned twenty (seems so long ago!) and it was my first trip away with the Italian boy that didn’t involve meeting with other friends. I remember sitting on the Spanish steps eating my very first Italian ice cream, already speaking the strange brand of Italo-inglese that has since practically become a language for us as a couple.
However, one of my fondest memories of Rome is of a huge plate of cheeeeeeeeesssssseeeeeeyyyyyy spaghetti and a good glass of robust red wine.
Wholewheat pasta with courgettes
Posted: January 24, 2012 Filed under: Lazio, Regional Cuisine | Tags: courgettes, Lazio, Pasta, pasta sauces, pasta with courgettes, pasta with zucchini, Rome, vegetable sauces, Vegetarian, Zucchine, Zucchini 2 Comments »Mafalde integrali con zucchine from Lazio
Wholewheat pasta gets a bad rap. That probably has something to do with the horrible gluey types that first came onto the market – you know, the ones that never quite cooked right and became a sludgey outside and kind of chewey inside.
Well, wholegrain pasta has come a long way since then, and many of the brands on the market today (it’s worth spending a little more) have a lovely texture and a slightly nutty flavour. As one of my favourite pasta dishes is pasta with courgettes from the Lazio region, I decided to pair the two, and this was the result:
Pasta with courgettes, zucchini, whatever 
Yum! You will need (serves 2):
150g wholegrain pasta (here I used a shape called “mafalde”)
4 large (or six medium) courgettes
One clove of garlic
Olive oil
One red chilli
Salt and pepper to taste
Half a glass of dry white wine
Thyme
Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)
All you need to do is roughly grate the courgettes and finely chop the garlic and chilli.
Lightly fry the garlic and chilli in oil to release the flavours, then add the courgettes, stir to coat and chuck in the white wine and the thyme. Let that bubble away on a low heat until the courgettes begin to turn into a soft paste – add more wine or some water if you would like to get the consistency of a pasta sauce.
As the courgettes are cooking, get the pasta ready.
Once the pasta and the courgettes are at the right point, drain the pasta and throw it into the pan with the courgettes. Stir to coat while adding the pecorino, should you choose to use it, and salt and pepper to taste.
And there you have it… ready to serve, an extremely healthy Italian pasta dish which uses something other than tomatoes in the sauce . Don’t get me wrong, I love tomatoes, but sometimes you just need something a little different, and this hits the spot.
Pasta with Chickpeas
Posted: January 7, 2012 Filed under: All regions, Lazio, Regional Cuisine | Tags: chick peas, Italian Food, italian recipes, Italian winter recipes, Pasta, pasta recipes, pulses, spicy, Vegetarian, winter food Leave a comment »Pasta e ceci alla romana from Lazio
This is definitely a dish that is eaten regularly in Italy in winter, and it is from what is known as la cucina povera (poor cuisine) because the ingredients are so cheap and readily available.
Pasta with chick peas
The homely roots of this pasta dish don’t make it any less tasty than some of the more sophisticated meals found in Italian restaurants, and every trattoria, mamma and nonna on the peninsula seems to have their own way of making it and could argue until the cows come home about which version is best.
