#ancient-roman-cuisine

#ancient-roman-cuisine

The combination of warmer weather and the impending release of my new book has got me fully focused on sunshine food and Mediterranean flavours, leaning heavily on recipes from Claudia Roden.

Dessert trolleys were banished to storerooms during Covid due to rigorous health guidelines, but many restaurants have since retrieved them, allowing them to glide between tables once more.

The drinks scene here has undergone something of a Renaissance, with the number and variety of options across the city blossoming. Of course, there are still the old school stalwarts that adhere to the traditional Italian idea of a bar-envision the quintessential all-day café-bar where you might stand at the counter for a cappuccino in the morning, grab a quick panino at lunchtime, or linger over an aperitivo after work.

Italy could soon be set to ban horse meat as part of a law that would define equine animals including horses, donkeys and mules as pets, therefore making it illegal to kill them. The bill has been drafted by Michela Vittoria Brambilla, a politician with Noi Moderati, a member of Giorgia Meloni's ruling coalition, and is backed by opposition parties. If approved, it would impose jail terms of up to three years and fines of up to 100,000 (87,000) for the slaughter of equines.

Historically speaking, an osteria was a spartan, no-frills establishment where people would go to have a drink. The original osterias date all the way back to the Roman Empire. If you go to Ostia Antica or Pompeii, you find the osterias of the era. They were like bed-and-breakfasts, with rooms for rent above the dining room where people could listen to music.

Few low-prep dishes satisfy and delight on busy weeknights like one-pot pastas, and one of the best ingredients to take your pasta dishes to the next level is vegetable broth. Boiling dry pasta directly in vegetable broth instead of water imparts bolder flavor as the pasta soaks it up. Plus, you'll end up with a pot full of starchy cooking liquid from the boiled pasta, which can provide a solid base for building a pan sauce.

Who doesn't love pasta? When I need a hug-in-a-bowl type of dinner, something cheesy and saucy is always what comes to mind first. Even when I'm thinking about making a special dinner, maybe for a date-night in or a friend coming over, comforting pasta recipes are always top of mind. If you find yourself needing a little something to look forward to at the end of the day, consider making one of these comforting pasta dinners this week. They all pair perfectly with a good

The benefit of soaking and cooking (or, better still, pressure cooking) your own beans are many: less packaging; money saved (a 500g bag of dried beans costing 2.50 will yield 1.5kg cooked beans, while some 400g tins can cost more or less the same); the suspiciously coloured but flavourful and starchy bean cooking water; and some personal satisfaction that you actually remembered to soak the beans in the first place.