Serves 4

One of the classic main courses, and easiest to make, is an omelette. A roman omelette isn’t fluffy, moist, folded over or filled with things. A roman omelette is flat, stiff and cooked till it is dry. It is also delicious. 

8 eggs

2 cups (4oz.) grated Pecorino Romano cheese

½ cup milk

A pinch of salt 

Black pepper to taste

2 tbls Olive oil 

optional :

½ cup cubed boiled ham

1 boiled potato, sliced thinly

•Mix eggs, cheese, milk, and salt. Beat mixture until well blended. 

•In a large pan, heat oil over a medium flame, till it starts to smoke.

•If you are going to add ham or potato add it to the pan now and fry it till it is slightly browned. 

•Add egg mixture, cover the pan and turn the flame down to low. If you have a flame tamer use it. 

•You want to cook the Frittata very slowly and not burn it. Check occasionally but it should cook for at least 15 minuets.

•Use a spatula to separate the Frittata from the pan. 

•With a large plate, slide the Frittata out of the pan and onto the plate, so that the pan side is down on the plate. 

•Over a sink, pour whatever oil is left in the pan onto the top of the frittata. 

•With one hand hold the plate from the bottom. With the other place the pan, upside down, on top of the frittata. 

•Turn the pan and plate so that it flips the Frittata into the pan, uncooked side down. 

•Let it cook for another  5 minuets. 

•When the Frittata is done it should be very firm and slightly crispy. To give you an idea of how firm it should be, Roman housewives  used to roll them up in wax paper and send it with their husbands for lunch. 

Serve the Frittata hot out of the pan or cold later in the day. It should not be reheated.

1 lbs. (500gr.) Spaghetti or Penne (not a thin pasta, i.e. Cappellini)
3.5 oz. Pecorino Romano (Roman Cheese from sheep’s milk, (sharp cheese)
1 cup of pasta water
3 tbls. salt for the pasta water
2 tbls black pepper (freshly ground)

for Pasta Alla Gricia additionally:

3.5 oz guanciale (jowl bacon, but pancetta or regular bacon will do)
1 pinch red hot pepper
1 tps. olive oil

Grate the cheese (or have it ground at the deli counter). 

Put on a pot of water for the pasta and salt.  When the water comes to a roiling boil add the pasta to the pot. Look at the package to see the cooking time, but it is normally between 8 and 10 minuets. 

1 minuet before the pasta is finished take out 1 cup of pasta water

Drain pasta, and place in a large bow. 

Add ½  cup of pasta water and quickly toss.

Throw the Cheese on top with the pepper. Toss quickly

Add additional pasta water to taste.

For Pasta All Gricia

Fry the bacon in olive oil and a pinch of hot pepper to taste, while you are waiting for the water to boil. 

The bacon should be done so that it is not too crispy. 

Toss in fried bacon into the pasta with the cheese

Here’s a great desert that takes very little time to make but will please everyone. While you won’t find this in restaurants, this is one of those dishes that graces the Roman table.  

1 lb. Fresh Ricotta 
1 cup powdered sugar
3 eggs and 2 egg yolks
1 pinch of salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
the grated zest of one lemon
2 Tablespoons butter
fresh mixed berries

•Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

•In a large bowl, add the ricotta and the powdered sugar. Adding the eggs, one at a time, mix well with a wooden spoon until well blended. 

•Mix in the salt, lemon zest and one teaspoon of the cinnamon.

•Grease well a round baking pan (with a 10” diameter) with butter.

•Pour the mixture into the baking pan and spread it evenly.

•Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

•When it is cooked all the way through (test by poking it with a toothpick and see if anything sticks to it), gently remove it from the pan by turning it upside down onto a plate and let cool completely. 

•Serve at room temperature covered in berries, and powdered sugar & cinnamon to taste. 

Serve 4

Cooking time: 30 minutes
3 tablespoons olive oil 
2 cloves garlic
1 pinch red hot pepper (or 1 whole Italian hot pepper)
1 lb. broccoli
salt and black pepper
8 Italian sausages 
1 cup dry white wine
sliced Italian bread

•Over a very low flame, fry the garlic and hot pepper in olive oil in a large pan. Once the garlic is soft, crush it in the pan to get all the flavor out and remove it from the pan. 

•While preparing the oil, cut the broccoli into large pieces, skinning the outer skin off of the stalks and wash them off in cold running water. 

•Place the broccoli in the pan and let it cook over a high heat for 5 minutes, add a pinch of salt and black pepper and stir with a wooden spoon. 

•Add the sausages to the pan with the broccoli. Pierce the skins of the sausage with a fork and let them cook with the broccoli for another 10 minutes over high heat, stirring the broccoli frequently and turning the sausages to make sure they are cooked on all sides. 

•Add the glass of wine to the pan; leave it uncovered to let the alcohol evaporate.

•Cook on low heat for another 15 minutes. 

•Check to see if the sausages are fully cooked – when their centers are hot and no longer pink, remove both the sausages and broccoli and serve with slices of Italian bread. 

Serves 3-4 persons. Cooking time approx. 10 min.

These delicious ‘rags of beef’ are a mainstay of most Roman trattoria menus. Many Italian cookbooks adapt this recipe to American tastes by adding oil or butter, but this is not necessary and is not how it is done in most Roman restaurants. We recommend doing as the Romans do: avoid the fat and cook the beef alone in its own juices (adding a few drops of water if necessary) in a good metal frying pan. 

Porcini mushrooms can also be added to this dish – just soak them in water (if using dried porcini) and sauté them in a some olive oil before cooking the beef, then remove and toss them back in once the beef is cooked. 

1 ½ lbs thinly sliced lean sirloin  

1 large bunch (or 2 bags) arugula (rocket)

¼ lb dried or fresh porcini mushrooms and 2 Tbs. olive oil (optional)

½ cup balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste 

This dish calls for the meat to be sliced very thin – if you can have a butcher do it, its 

better. Just ask for ‘carpaccio beef’. If you buy the beef unsliced, place in a freezer until almost frozen – this makes it easier to make thin slices, along the grain of the meat.

Wash arugula, drain and dry; cut in two pieces if a large-leaved variety. Heat pan and add slices of beef. Brown quickly on high heat, stirring energetically, about 5 minutes. When beef is cooked through but still tender, add ½ of the arugula to the pan (along with the cooked porcini if you’ve included them). Turn off the heat and toss the beef with the arugula, mixing the juices well – if the meat has not produced any juices, you can add a few drops of water during cooking. With the rest of the arugula, make a bed on each plate and spoon some straccetti on top. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and salt & pepper to taste. 

Enjoy with a glass of local Lazio wine such as Frascati DOC.