The Roman cuisine is full of meat, as we know. For example amatriciana, gricia and carbonara are cooked with guanciale (which is the pigs’ cheek). In the old times (and still now) the tradition was not to throw anything of the animals, so you can find on menus almost every part of them cooked in different ways. So, what if you are vegetarian? I’m a vegetarian too and sometimes it’s hard to enjoy food in such a typical and traditional environment. So with years I learned how to enjoy the best food in Rome being a vegetarian, because not everything is about meat!
PRIMI
The primi piatti normally are based on pasta or potato (for example gnocchi). In Rome we use, as we said before, a lot of guanciale for the primi piatti, but there are three nice and flavorful options. The cacio e pepe for example, is a creamy dish made of pecorino and pepper and was the poorest dish back in old times. The pastors would just have cheese from their goats and pepper to keep himself warm during the coldest seasons, and this is definitely a popular option, which you can find everywhere. Another typical, and fortunately vegetarian, option is the gnocchi alla romana: small discs made of semolina, milk and parmesan cheese, simple and amazing; they are normally grated in the oven and served with breadcrumbs on top. And last but not least: the penne all’arrabbiata, a fresh tomato sauce with grounded red hot chili peppers and parsley on top, a minimal plate but so delicious you won’t believe it.
SECONDI & CONTORNI
Thankfully we are big fans of vegetables and we cook them in every way possible! In the oven, grilled, fried. But there is one vegetable that we really love; the artichoke! My mom, for example, always does the carciofi con le patate, with potatoes, garlic and parsley, incredibly delicious. Then the famous carciofo alla romana cooked with oil, garlic and parsley but without potatoes, and this one is pretty popular in restaurants. Also the carciofo alla Giudia, which is a whole artichoke deep fried and served instantly, is really good. Apart from artichokes we also deep fry mixed vegetables like zucchini, cauliflowers, bell pepper and zucchini flowers. So we have quite the choice on this.
OTHERS
Two of my favorites dishes, which are sometimes hard to find in restaurants, but thanks to my mom I can enjoy, are pomodori al riso, which are tomatoes filled with rice with a side of potatoes (everything is cooked in the same pan to unite the flavors) and pasta e fagioli. This one is typical Italian but every region does it differently. It is an amazing soup, creamy and full of taste made of diverse kinds of beans (cannellini or borlotti, normally), tomato paste and rosemary. Because less is more!
roman gal goes around 