Regional Recipes of Lazio

Among the typical preparations, widespread are broths and soups; traditional of the festivals is the stracciatella (beaten egg with grated cheese, salt, lemon juice and nutmeg in chicken broth). Fresh pasta, made with water and flour or with eggs, is used asciutta with mixed meat or porcini mushroom sauces, or for soups. Second courses vary from boiled meat, to baked or barbecued meat, mainly pork, but also chicken, lamb and feathered game. In some areas, sheep with sauce, coratella with onion, scalded lamb and sheep's kebabs are also common.

The cultivation of vegetables is very rich, including typical are the Pontecorvo DOP cornetto pepper, broccoli, courgettes, and the use of wild herbs such as chicory is widespread. The traditional wine is multi-variety: the white wine, rich in Malvasia, is dry, aromatic and full of color, the red is made from various grapes, dry and highly rich in tannins.

The traditional desserts are the Amaretti, the donuts with wine, the tozzetti, the susumelle, the tarts, the panettone, the pastiere and the stuffed cakes, or the typical casata of Pontecorvo rich in eggs (even about forty for dessert), chocolate and ricotta. Then there are the rustici, that is savory cakes, in the shape of a donut, with hard-boiled eggs, cheese and cold cuts, or puddings as the canascioni" or the ciambella sorana, which accompanied with cheeses or cold cuts, is an excellent snack.

The main dishes were first courses, both dry or in broth with pasta, vegetables or legumes (chickpeas, potatoes, broccoli, beans), and the so-called fifth quarter", what remains of the cow or sheep after the valuable parts, the front and rear quarters were sold to the wealthy, therefore tripe, kidneys, heart, liver, spleen, sweetbreads (= pancreas, thymus and salivary glands), brain and tongue. From sheep meat all the entrails (liver, lungs, heart) were typically called coratella. Also the the tail of the ox was used in a traditional dish coda alla vaccinara. For pork and veal, also pawswere used.

Rome was always been a consumer, not a production market, but all the typical products of the nearby areas were used, from oil to pigs from Norcia, Umbria (butchers who sold pig were called, in fact, norcini. In authentic Roman cuisine butter is unknown, and pork lard is used also for frying, though the choice condiment was, and still is, olive oil.

In ancient Rome the dishes consumed by the rich were based on meat, especially pork. The cuisine of the people, on the other hand, was very simple, based on cereals, cheeses, legumes and fruit. Among the legumes especially the chickpeas, also on the table of the rich, presented warm in crock bowls for the evening meal. From this ancient recipe derives the typical Roman dish of the eve, the soup of pasta, chickpeas and cod.