Food Tour of Rome

The Gnocci Maker

Rome, Italy 2015

A woman makes gnocci, a potato dumpling, to prove the freshness of the restaurant’s food. Making gnocci is an ordeal until you have mastered the proportion of flour to potato. It’s a mystery that can only be solved by practice.

I hadn’t mastered gnocci but I cooked them when my daughter brought her boyfriend to dinner. The recipe made enough for at least eight people. We were four. But her boyfriend couldn’t stop eating them. I began to worry about him as he devoured the last bites. Would all that dough expand in his stomach and cause it to rupture? It didn’t. But after that evening, he never ate gnocci again. Just the thought of gnocci made him ill.

Lunch at ParmAroma

We began our food tour in the market of Campo Fiori. We sampled cheeses, condiments and cured meats…guanciale  or pig’s cheeks was one. Guanciale reminded me of what we called ‘fatback’ on the farm in South Carolina. Here you see some prosciutto, salami and parmesan cheese from Emilia-Romagna along with a chunk of Parmigiano. The small bowls on the left contain condiments: cherry conserves, honey and aged balsamic vinegar. Here’s what you do: take a piece of Parmigiano, dab a bit of one of the condiments on it and pop it in your mouth. Delicious. Try it next time you have guests. They will be impressed.

I recommend having lunch or dinner at ParmaAroma. You’ve never tasted better.