STARTERS

SUPPLI' AL TELEFONO (ALLA ROMANA)

Put the mushrooms in warm water to soften. Into a casserole dish put ½ litre of water, the tinned, broken-up tomatoes and 70 g (2 oz) of butter; add salt and put over heat to cook. When the water begins to boil, throw in the rice, stirring from time to time, and taking care that it does not over-cook. Once cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the 2 whole eggs and the grated cheese. Put the rice into a large plate to cool. In the meantime, put a saucepan on the heat with the rest of the butter, the oil, ¼ of an onion, finely chopped, the heart, the livers, the beef, the ham, the sweetbreads and the drained and chopped up mushrooms. Sauté for a few minutes and then add a teaspoon of tomato sauce dissolved in a little water, then season with salt and stir. Cover and cook over a low flame until the sauce has reduced in volume, continuing to stir. At this point, cut up the mozzarella into small pieces. Form the cold rice into balls about the size of an egg and, with your index finger, make a hole in one of the two ends. Fill the hole with the meat sauce prepared previously, close up the hole using a little rice and roll the croquette in the breadcrumbs. When all the croquettes are ready, fry them in plenty of oil until they are crisp and golden brown. They can be dressed with meat or tomato sauce.

amounts for 4 people:
sweetbreads: 2 oz
butter: 3 ½ oz
onion: ½
chicken livers: 2
grated Parmesan cheese: 2 tbsp
dried mushrooms: 1 oz
seed oil for frying:
breadcrumbs:
peeled/skinned tomatoes: 4
cured ham: 1 oz
rice: 11 oz
salt:
tomato sauce: 1 tbsp
eggs: 2
veal: 3 oz
calf’s heart: 2 oz
provatura romana (a type of Mozzarella cheese): 3 ½ oz

FILETTI DI BACCALA' FRITTO

Fillet of Baccalá (dried salt cod).

Cut the fillet into slices, two centimetres by ten centimetres, and then rinse and keep under water for at least two days to get rid of the salt. Alternatively it is possible to buy fillet already de-salted. One must take a lot of care when it comes to preparing the batter and frying the fillet. Firstly, to prepare the batter, sieve the flour and very slowly mix the water into a ceramic bowl in which there is already melted brewer's yeast and salt. If the mixture becomes too dense add lukewarm water. The consistency should be similar to liquid cream. As soon as this is done cover the bowl with a cloth and allow it to settle for at least two hours without exposing it to the cold. At the end of the two hours take the baccalá fillet and coat it with batter. Place the fillet straightaway in the frying pan, which contains hot oil. Just after it becomes golden, take it out of the oil and dry it well and put on the serving platter. Garnish the dish with slices of lemon.

dried salt cod

fleur

water

brewer's yeast

corn oil

FIRST COURSES

BUCATINI ALLA AMATRICIANA

*Remember to put spaghetti into the slightly salted water only when it is highly boiling: cook for max # minutes (it is always written on the pasta pack)

amounts for 4 people:
pecorino romano or grana padano cheese: streaky bacon (made from pig's cheek): 5 oz olive oil: chilli pepper:peeled/skinned tomatoes: 9 ozsalt: bucatini pasta (large, hollow spaghetti): 14 oz

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA

*Remember to put spaghetti into the slightly salted water only when it is highly boling: cook for max # minutes (it is always written on the pasta pack)

Beans with pork rind "Fagioli con le cotiche"

Soak the beans in cold water over night. The next day, boil them and season with salt. Scrape the pork rind well, put into a saucepan, pour in enough water to cover them and boil for 15 minutes; drain and cut into thin strips and put them back into a clean saucepan, cover with cold water, season with salt and cook them. When the beans and the pork rind are ready, cut up finely the ham, the garlic, a handful of parsley and a few basil leaves. Put this mixture into an earthenware dish with a little oil and the chopped up onion and sauté. Then add the skinned, chopped up tomatoes, having removed their seeds. After about 20 minutes, add the drained beans, the pork rind and a little of their cooking water. Cover the dish and cook for about 15 minutes.

amounts for 4 people:
garlic: 1 clove
basil:
onion: 1
pork rind: 7 oz
olive oil:
pepper:
ripe tomatoes: 11 oz
parsley:
cured ham: 2 oz
salt:
cannellini beans: 11 oz

MAIN COURSES

Lamb Roman style "Abbacchio alla romana"

Cut the lamb into equal-sized pieces. Sauté 2 bruised cloves of garlic in the oil in a frying pan, then put in the pieces of lamb and allow to brown over a moderate heat. Season with salt and pepper. Crush, using a pestle and mortar, the rosemary leaves with the washed and boned anchovies and half a clove of garlic; add to the mixture in the mortar a few tablespoons of vinegar. When the lamb is ready, pour this sauce over it, mix together and wait for the vinegar to evaporate. Then arrange the lamb in a warmed serving plate, cover with the sauce, and serve.

Ox tail alla vaccinara style "Coda alla vaccinara"

Chop up together finely the parsley, garlic, onion and carrot. Then chop up the bacon fat and cut the ox tail and cheek into small pieces, wash them and immerse them into boiling water. When the water comes to the boil again, remove the meat. Put the bacon fat, the lard and the finely chopped vegetables into an earthenware casserole dish. Sauté for an instant and add the pieces of meat, mix together and fry until the meat browns. Season with salt and pepper and continue to sauté, wetting a little at a time with the white wine. When the wine has evaporated, add two tablespoons of tomato sauce diluted in half a litre (1 pint) of hot water. Cover the pan and cook over very low heat for about 4 hours. At the end of the cooking time, add the meat, the celery stalks cut up into small pieces and leave on the heat for another half hour. Put the meat onto a serving plate, covered with its sauce. Serve hot.

Ingredients

amounts for 8 people:

garlic: 1 clove
carrots: 1
onion: 1
lard: 3 ½ oz
pepper:
parsley:
salt:
tomato sauce:
celery: 1
rendered pork fat/lard: 1 oz
white wine: 1 glass
ox tail and cheek: 4 lbs 8 oz

DESSERT

TIRAMISU'

Beat egg yolks and sugar at high speed.
Add the mascarpone and mix well. Beat egg whites until foam, adding a pinch of salt. Dip the biscuits into coffee and pour in a bowl. Layer some of the mascarpone mixture over biscuits. Repeat all layers. Top with unsweetened cocoa powder. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and serve cold.