City of Rome & Food

Feeling lost and overwhelmed in the eternal city is very common. Where to go, what to see and especially what & where to eat.

When we visit Italy  we are all excited to taste their great food and I can completely  understand this.The beauty of Italy is how diverse the food is in each region. Each region specializes in their unique culinary delight. The fun part ? Discovering it and tasting it .

Therefore , I would like to stress,Italian food  is not only about Pizza Margarita or a Lasagna that is commonly seen on every menu , in every street corner trattoria around Italy. It is more than that.  Open your world to true Italian delicious food.

So where do you start , you ask? 

Secret Food Tour 

Blessed you are if you have a relative in Italy that cooks like a chef , yet everyone deserves to eat welll travelling to Italy. This is why I recommend a little help from Secret Food Tour.

Secret Food Tour is an Award Winning international food tour that have been in New York Times,  Travel Channel , The Culture Trip or BBC Good Food, to name a few.  Their tours are in Europe, US, Canada and Asia .

I loved this tour so much I will consider it when travelling to a city that offers it . Food is such a big part of travelling, one should not miss out discovering and savouring food in different cultures of the world.

 I was so excited to start the tour with  a Singaporean family and our fantastic guide Silvia.

Start of Tour 

When in Italy do like the Italians, start your day with an espresso. First stop with the Secret Food Tour is  was at Vivi Bistrot  for a quick espresso or capuccino .The bistrot is quaint and charming.

The second stop  and third stop , Silvia had brought us to try pizza and  Supplis .Eat them as a snack like the Romans. Rice balls filled with a tomato sauce filled typically with meat or mushroom. These little supplis were divine .

A great deal of pleasure and joy  over took the group when Silvia brought us to a Sicilain pastry shop. Delightful faces surrounded by a vast assortment of Sicilain desserts. Pinch me please! 

2 very typical Roman dish is Pasta all’Amatriciana and Cacio e Pepe. I especially loved the pasta all’Amatriciana for the intense taste the guanciale blends in the tomato sauce and black pepper. This dish originates from the town of Amatrice and has becomes their typical Roman dish.

If you like something simpler you also get to try their cacio e pepe. It includes a bucatini pasta mixed with pecorino cheese and lots of pepper to intensify this simple dish.

Just when you think your appetite is completed, the tour continued with more food. Did I not mention how  happy this tour made me? 

Final Stops

What is Italy without cheese and white wine from Rome ? We were served a platter of Goat ricotta cheese cooked in the oven- Pecorino Grand Balbiè accompanied with a glass of white wine. The shop is called  Beppe and His Cheeses .

Last but not least, a final stop at a gelato stop called 
Gelateria Corona . Please note I kept some stops as secrets so you can enjoy and discover them as much as I did. What fun would it be if you knew every stop of this tour. 

A big thank you to Silvia , she was informative and fun guide to be with. Bravo to Secret Food Tours, you have gone beyond my expectations.

Bonus 

As a bonus to my readers Silvia was kind enough to share her recipe of Penne All’Arrabbiata  . The following is all from her. Try it, enjoy it and let me know what you think. 

Here is the recipe of Penne all’arrabbiata! Easy and so yummy!

The name arrabbiata (angry) of this dish it’s because of the use of chilli. When preparing this angry dish, feel free to use as much chilli as you want, it is up to you and to your mouth, to make it angry or very angry!
And again this recipe belongs to the Roman cooking tradition.Ingredients for 4 persons

14 oz Penne rigate pasta8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 Cloves of garlic finely chopped (you can also use garlic without chopping it, taking it out once you reach the gold colour )
2 or 3 dried or fresh red chilli roughly chopped1.1 lb Chopped tomatoes
A small handful of flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
Salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan (medium heat) and add the chopped or entire cloves (garlic/chilli) into the pan.Sauté for a couple of minutes or until the garlic becomes golden , then add the chopped tomatoes ,season with salt, stir for a few seconds.

Cook on medium/low heat for about 20-25 minutes. Cook penne pasta al dente , drain it and add it into the pan containing the sauce, then sprinkle with chopped parsley give a quick stir and serve immediately.

If you want to buy some good pasta you can go in a supermarket and choose from these brands, they are all very easy to find:
De CeccoRummoVoiello

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