Rome is clearly a popular destination among the Buzz-ing travel community this summer. Welcome to our new “Ask the Buzzhopper?” which we’ve introduced after getting so many emails after last week’s Buzz Spotlight with Francesca Ciammitti in Rome. Thanks to Francesca for joining us again!
Q) Francesca, you mentioned that every region in Italy has its own dishes, and even own ingredients for its special dishes. I’m coming to Rome soon, what dishes are the true Roman dishes I MUST try while I’m there?
A) I think the Roman must-have dishes are pasta gricia – which is pasta with Roman pecorino cheese, pepper and lard from the pig’s cheek, and coda alla vaccinara, which is a Roman oxtail stew.
If you are in Rome during wintertime, you must try puntarelle alla romana, a special kind of winter chicory sprout, served in anchovy sauce. And for the vegetarians I would suggest pasta cacio e pepe – which is just like pasta gricia without meat. As its name suggests, it’s pasta with cheese and pepper. Simple and truly delicious. And extremely hard to replicate outside of Rome due to the ingredients. Order with a side of stir fried chicory, or Roman artichokes.
Q) You mentioned you’re a comic book translator. What are your favourite comics?
A) It’s very hard to say which is my favorite comic book, I have a pretty vast collection of mostly American and Italian comics, but I could go on forever talking about them, so I’ll just pick two: Alan Moore’s version of “Swampthing”, and “Pompeo” or just anything that has been written and drawn by Andrea Pazienza, an Italian comic artist that should be way more famous than he is outside of Italy.
PS – We’ll be returning to “Meet the Buzzhopper” next week and we’ll be heading to London. But if you have any questions for Ask the Buzzhopper, buzz us at info@buzzhopper.com