After thousands of years of habitation and hardship, one thing is certain: the Jews of Rome have a cuisine unlike any other in the world<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Rome is home to Europe\u2019s oldest Jewish community. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The first Jews arrived in Ancient Rome as slaves from the conquest of Judea. Sephardic Jews arrived from Spain after the expulsion of Jews from Iberia in 1492, along with some Ashkenazi Jews from Central Eastern Europe. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Roman Jews, due to the longevity of the community, are considered a distinct group. For example, I\u2019m Italian (from my father) and Ashkenazi Jewish (from my mother), and I live in Rome. But I\u2019d never consider myself a Roman Jew, nor the matzo balls and pastrami of my childhood to be Roman Jewish food. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Like all Jews, the story of Gli Ebrei Romani <\/em>is one of tradition maintained throughout persecution. However, the particulars of both their history and the terroir of their home created Roman Jewish food.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n Because of Rome\u2019s overwhelming Catholicism, plus its centuries-long persecution of Jews, one might assume that Roman Jewish food is completely different than \u201cnormal\u201d Roman food, or maybe just a kosherized version. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The truth is quite the opposite. Roman Jews eat many typical dishes of cucina romana<\/em><\/a>. Cacio e pepe<\/a><\/em>, chicken stewed with peppers, roast abbacchio<\/em> (suckling lamb) are all dishes favored by Catholics and Jews alike. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n We can go one further, though. Many dishes thought of as typically \u201cRoman\u201d actually come from<\/em> the Roman Jewish community. The most famous example is the carciofo alla giudia<\/em>, literally \u201cJewish-style artichoke.\u201d A fried globe artichoke, it was probably invented when Sephardic Jews from Spain (already expert friers) started cooking Rome\u2019s indigenous vegetable in olive oil. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Another dish like this is concia<\/em>. This is fried zucchini that is then to soak in olive oil, vinegar and herbs for a few days, with a weight on top to keep the slices submerged. Conciatura<\/em> means \u201cleather tanning,\u201d as the weight on top of the zucchini supposedly mimics weighing hides down in their tanning solution. Both of these dishes are relatively easy to make. Check out this video of Nonna Betta<\/a>, one of Rome\u2019s best Jewish restaurants, to see how to make them\u2014or you could just go there yourself on your next visit. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Kosher law prohibits the consumption of shellfish, pork and meat mixed with milk. Therefore, Roman Jews avoid certain things common to Roman cuisine. Instead of cured pork, they make a wonderful product called carne secca<\/em>, \u201cdried beef.\u201d The beef is salted and hung to dry like a prosciutto. My local butcher, of Jewish origin, makes his own and recommended that I cut it up and fry it with tomatoes and zucchini to dress some fresh pasta. No grated cheese though\u2014that\u2019d make the dish treif<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n We can\u2019t talk about Roman Jews without talking about the Ghetto<\/a>. A section of the city center located on the banks of the Tiber, the Jews of Rome were shut in here from 1555 to 1870. They were deprived of most political and economic rights, and for hundreds of years remained poor, cramped in narrow apartments, and allowed out only during the day. Today the Ghetto remains the center of Roman Jewish life, a symbol of both present prosperity and past persecution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n We also can\u2019t talk about Roman Jewish food without taking the Ghetto into account. The combination of cramped conditions and poverty made the invention of certain dishes a necessity. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Aliciotti con indivia<\/em> is classic dish of anchovies baked with endive and herbs. Roman Jews love it like New Englanders love fried clams. But behind it is a history of deprivation. During the ghetto period, there was a big fish market right outside the wall. At the end of the day, the leftover fish (often oily, cheap ones like anchovies) would be given to the Jews, who bulked it up with a strong vegetable like endive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cassola<\/em> is a delicious Roman-Jewish cheesecake made of ricotta, eggs, cinnamon and honey. But it has nothing to do with the cheesecake you might see in Manhattan. In the Ghetto, most of the apartments had only a fireplace to cook in,with no oven. Therefore, any dessert had to be something that could cook in a pan, like a flourless cheesecake, instead of a cake that required consistent ambient temperature. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cThis keeps the food warm during Shabbat,\u201d says my friend Claudio, a born-and-bred Roman Jew. \u201cI take my religion and adapt it to modern technology.\u201d <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It was Friday afternoon and Claudio was busy preparing for Saturday before the sun went down and he couldn\u2019t use electricity. Sort of. The veal with peas and salt-cod in tomato sauce that he\u2019d prepared for Shabbat lunch would remain on a metal hot plate hooked up to a timer, set to start heating the food up an hour after morning services ended. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Roman Jewish food is still widely eaten. Some dishes, like the artichoke, have made their way into the city-wide canon. Many others are cherished not only for their cultural and sentimental value, but also for their original function: cheap food that\u2019s kosher and sits well. It\u2019s rare to find a Roman Jewish house without stracotto<\/em> (beef braised in tomato sauce) for Shabbat, because a tough cut of muscle can cook overnight in the oven or crockpot and be ready for lunch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There are no \u201cmodernist\u201d developments in Roman Jewish cuisine, to be sure\u2014don\u2019t expect a foam of fried artichoke or kosher wagyu. However, there have been some (relatively) recent changes. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"Discover](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/roman-jewish-food-1.png\")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\nRoman food, but Kosher? <\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"Secondo](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/traditional_food_in_rome_cacioepepe-1.jpg\")
![\"Carciofo](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/TTH-Highlights-Plata-Reach-e1500923112854-1.jpg\")
A People of the Ghetto<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/roman-jewish-food-ghetto--1.jpg\")
Heads in the Present, Hearts in the Past<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The New Stuff<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n