Food

Abroad

May 19 2009, 7:48 am by Faith Willinger

Classic Cooking With a Jewish Accent

willinger may18 carciofi post.jpg

Photo by Faith Willinger

I met Anna Dente at an event--she was cooking with young chefs who all tried to outdo each other with weird combinations, foams, and gels. She made classic rigatoni all'amatricana--the best dish of the evening for me. Of course, I had to visit her restaurant, Osteria di San Cesario, outside Rome. Anna's cooking, like her accent, is ultra-Roman. Her father is a butcher, specializing in local lamb, kid, "fifth quarter" (leftovers from the four official quarters--offal, head, tail, hoof), pork, and guanciale cured pork jowl, and supplies the restaurant with fantastic products.

The menu features wild greens and mushrooms, grain soups, Roman-Jewish dishes like pasta and Roman cauliflower in skate broth, fried artichokes and salt cod. I was simply wild about the puntarelle, Catalan chicory with garlic and anchovy dressing; and the Jewish artichokes were the best I've ever eaten. For dessert there are cookies, jam tart crostata, and an interesting tiramisu with strawberries instead of the usual chocolate and coffee flavors.

The wine list is focused on the region, and there are many well-priced gems. Most diners conclude with Anna's homemade fennel liqueur. Best of all are the four rooms at their bed and breakfast, inexpensive and ideal for those who want to indulge in the wine list. It's a perfect stop for anyone who arrives in Rome and plans to head south.

Osteria di San Cesario, Via F. Corridoni
60 San Cesareo (Roma)
Tel. 06-9587950.
Email: info@osteriasancesario.it
Online at www.osteriadisancesario.it

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Comments (3)

Gila

Nothing in skate broth is a traditional Jewish dish anywhere, because skate isn't kosher.

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Faith Willinger

I had always been told this dish was of Jewish origins, and just checked with my major Roman historical culinary expert who said it was. Possibly it was done originally with another fish--or maybe the Romans Jews have a different interpretation of kosher--I once met a guy who cooked Passover for a kosher Jewish orphanage and he was making rice, which shouldn't be kosher for Passover.

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david

No. Skate is not kosher. Rice is kosher for passover, certain Jews of German origin (Ashekenazim)do not eat it for passover because it falls under the "Kitniot" category and thus have outlawed it because it is too similar to leaven (hametz).
Some fish are controversial. Thus, Sturgeon which have gandoid scales are not considered Kosher by most orthodox Jews. However, I understand that there were, or are, some Turkish communities that consider Sturgeon kosher. Skate, to the best of my understanding, have no scales of any type, and thus could never be Kosher.

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