S.P.Q.R. (or the rice balls on the phone...)

When I am feeling home nostalgic and the only place I would like to do is walking on the river bank or enjoying the little wine bars and trattoria of Trastevere, or a grattachecca in front of the Tiberina island, the only way to face the blue is to cook something traditional and bring my mind back home with Roman flavours.

This is why once again here I am writing about some Roman local recipes. Most of the time the result will be extremely tasty and quite fat, but that's how we like it, sometimes!

This time is going to be a starter whose name will be difficult to pronounce and also slightly weird: suppli' al telefono(on the phone).

Before explaining why are they called this way here is the recipe…

You will need to prepare a light ragout, with onions, carrots, olive oil and minced beef. Suppli could be done with a simple tomato sauce as well but personally I prefer the meaty ones. It is important though not to exceed with the ragout…it has to colour and lightly dress the rice, nothing more.

Boil the rice, mix it with the ragout and leave it on a side. Originally suppli' were done with the rice left over from the day before but this was when people was not wasting food as there was not that much available.

When the rice will be cold, then mix an egg and whisk another one in a bowl to use later. Make some balls with rice sized and shaped like a big egg and put 2 mozzarella cube in the middle. Then pass the rice balls in the whisked egg and in breadcrumbs and finally deep fry it in hot oil.

Golden rules:

- do not fry them for too long, their colour should be golden brown, not too dark.

- eat them when still hot…when you bite it the mozzarella inside should melt and follow you creating a white line between your mouth and the rest of the suppli…like a phone wire….and that's why "on the phone"!

- have a glass of wine from the Castelli Romani…a Frascati or a Marino, something simple and light but with a lively acidity to clear your mouth.

PS: If you are in Rome you will be able to find them in any Pizzeria al taglio or Rosticceria, those typical kind of takeaway places, but the best in town are for sure the ones from the Pizzeria Ai Marmi in Trastevere, also locally called Obitorio (mortuary) for its marble tables without table clothes…you will have to queue for them but you'll be highly rewarded!

So…yummy!!!

S.P.Q.R.

Everyone knows that Rome is one of the most beautiful cities all over the world. That its streets are full of history and art. That the Roman empire was huge and ancient Romans were expanding all over Europe and Northern Africa. Very often when traveling it happens to see ancient Roman ruins such as aqueducts, walls, roads. And Britain as well is full of them: from the Hadrian's wall  of York till the southern city of Bath with its temples and thermal pools.
What is not well known instead is Roman cuisine. What English people knows is probably just the Carbonara, and after attentively reading the most visited recipes online I can say for sure, that there is no one right!
I guess that the fact that I was born and lived in Rome for 32 years gives me a little bit of authority in talking about some Romans traditional recipes. Also, my father does the best Spaghetti alla Carbonara ever, and it has always been my favourite pasta.
Coming to the real Carbonara, this is one of the simplest recipe you could deal with. The key factors are the right ingredients and perfect timing! There's no more than 6 ingredients:
Eggs
Guanciale (difficult to find here in London, but not impossible, a lot of delicatessen have it.Last time I bought it in Borough Market)
Pecorino (possibly the Roman type, in this case you can even find it in Sainsbury)
Pasta, Olive oil & Black Pepper

Just a note before starting, the cream is not missing by mistake. There is no cream in this recipe....NO CREAM!!
Now, cook the pasta al dente, and while doing this make cubes of your guanciale (usually around one slice per person) and fry it for few minutes. Then whisk the eggs (normally you should alternate one whole egg and one only yolk per person) adding abundant black pepper. When pasta is cooked, drain it well. Then return it over the eggs, pour the bacon and quickly mix. Cover the bowl with a lid or a plate and wait for a couple of minutes. The heat is going to cook the eggs. So now you only have to sprinkle your pecorino and some more pepper if needed. Just in case it got too dry you can add a tablespoon of the pasta cooking water.
Time to eat now!!

Ops...one last thing: the best wine match is going to be a white (as tannins don't work well with eggs) fresh,but not too acidic and with a medium body. Possibly a wine from the area like a Frascati Superiore (try Poggio le Volpi, Pallavicini or Fontana Candida Terre dei Grifi).
Enjoy it!

PS: Picture is courtesy of friend and wine mentor Sor Alessio G.!