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known as friggitori would batter and fry vegetables such as artichokes, cauliflower, aubergines, courgettes and courgette flowers and also fish such as anchovies. Throughout the time of the Ghetto


(1555-1870), where the Jews in Rome were confined, creativity and necessity played a central role in Roman Jewish cooking. This particularly deprived and confined environment led to what I call ‘inventive thrift’, ie using parts of foods that others would throw away, such as the stems of spinach or endive, andmaking ameal out of them, literally.Another example is carne allungata (stretchedmeat), which isminced meat to which ingredients such as courgettes, carrots, celery and onions are added in order to ‘stretch’ themeal to feed more people. The classic dish of this type is zucchine ripiene (courgettes filled with meat).Another is stracotto,meaning literally ‘overcooked’, a Sabbath dish which was slowly cooked for hours to soften the tough and gristly cuts ofmeat it used. Today, luckily,more tender cuts of beef are used and it is a delicious dish. Anchovy is another interesting


ingredient, widely found in Roman Jewish cooking, but it was often considered by other Romans, in particular the Catholic Church, to be fish bait rather than food. In themain fishmarket in Rome, which was once at one of the Ghetto gates, Portico d’Ottavia, a


in SEaRch of CarCiofi aLLa GiuDia


stone plaque stated that fish sellers had to give officials the large fish, leaving the small ones for the poor and the Jews. Jews were allowed to buy only small fish, such as anchovies and sardines, and sometimes they could not even afford those, bringing home only bones and heads. This inspired a variety of dishes such as aliciotti con l’indivia (anchovies baked with endive), fried anchovies, or a fantastic fish soupmade just with fish heads and bones. Finally, desserts.Most Roman Jewish


desserts are still awell-kept secretwithin the Jewish community.One of themost traditional is the pizza Romana, also called pizza di Piazza,which has nothing to dowith the pizzawe know! It is a fruitcakemade of candied fruit, almonds, pine nuts and raisins, sold only in Boccione, a tiny bakery in the Ghetto,which is run bywomen of the same family. They are not very friendly, but they


bake sowell that there is regularly a long queue outside. The pizza is usually bought for semachot: for brits,weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs, but inmy familywe like to bake our own.Other great traditional cakes from Boccione are a sour cherry tart, torta di visciole, and a ricotta and chocolate tart, torta di ricotta e cioccolato.Another delicious Roman Jewish dessert is cassola, alsomade of ricotta, usuallywith ewe’smilk. Although Roman Jewish cuisine has


old roots, it has evolved with time and it is still not a closed chapter. Inventive thrift, thankfully, plays less of a role today with ingredients of all kinds easily available and mostly affordable. Demographics however, are still an influence. The thousands of Tripolitanian Jews who immigrated to Rome in 1967 when expelled from Libya brought with them their own culinary traditions and ingredients, some of which are being gradually incorporated into Italian Jewish cuisine.At the same time, they are enriching their own culinary traditions with the use of Italian ingredients.As a result Roman Jewish cooking remains a continuously evolving and ever richer cuisine.


Silvia nacamulli, now living in london, teaches, lectures and writes on italian Jewish cookery, caters italian food for corporate and private events and runs culinary holidays in italy.


if you take Silvia nacamulli’s advice and go to Rome to sample the deep-fried artichokes, where will you find them? vESna DomanY haRDY investigates


Frequented by foreign tourists, Italian visitors to Rome or Romans fond of eating out, the Ghetto has become fashionable. Day and evening the place is brimming with life as young people gather for celebrations. If you want to dine in any of the restaurants it is best to book, although they are less busy at lunchtime. Most of the eating places: bars, take away


eateries and restaurants offer Roman Jewish specialities as well as other Roman dishes. The first evening of our visit to Rome we booked a table at the elegant Piperno behind Piazza delle


Cinque Scole. Later when talking to the owner we discovered that the restaurant has never been Jewish-owned, albeit it is famous for serving Jewish specialities like fiori di zucca ripieni (friedmarrow flowers stuffed with ricotta cheese and anchovies), baccalá fritto (fried salt cod) and carciofi alla Giudia. The next evening we ate at


the kosher Taverna del Ghetto. Although its terrace wasmore cramped, both food and service were good. Nearby is the equally popular Ba’Ghetto which has bothmeat and dairy establish- ments.Web reviews suggest there is little to choose from between these restaurants.What is enjoyedmost is the ambience and the opportunity to eat dishes you will get nowhere else.


la taverna del Ghetto +39 06 68809771


ba’Ghetto +39 06 6889 2868


Emily Jamieson’s photo of the carciofi of ba’Ghetto, similar to the one we tried at the Piperno, suggests that the art of peeling and cutting the leaves has been lost or found too time-consuming by the restaurants (cf Silvia’s version opposite).


JEWiSh REnaiSSancE octobER 2011


55


Photos: Emma Jamieson


Photo: Janet levin


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