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. Rome is home to Europe\u2019s oldest Jewish community.<\/p>\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

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Roman food, but Kosher?<\/h2>\r\n\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

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