I Heart Rome: Recipes & Stories from the Eternal City by Maria Pasquale is a guided tour with beautiful food and location photography, classic recipes, and stories from the Italian capital. Profiles of food purveyors and chefs told along with quirky stories and glorious pictures, take the reader on an inspiring journey through the Rome that tourists rarely get to see.

In a country justifiably famous for its food, Rome boasts its own fascinating cuisine that is fundamentally tied to its history. Influences from Ancient Rome to more recent events are reflected in the food culture of the city today. The author keeps us in touch with the past while keeping a finger on the pulse on Rome's modern offerings.

Recipes in this title include the classics from Crocchette di patate (potato croquettes), Crostata di marmellata (jam tart), to Pesce in guazzetto (fish stew). Essays on Jewish-Roman cuisine and the Roman ghetto, market guides, with pizza and pasta heavily covered. Besides the recipes, recommendations on where to eat, where to drink and how to experience Rome like an Italian is shared.

Maria is the voice behind the blog Heart Rome which has become the go-to for information on travel  information on Rome, dining and broader travel. I Heart Rome is her first cookbook and is indeed a love letter to this beautiful city.

Amatriciana  by Eleonora Chiari

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Serves 4

  • 150 g (5½ oz) guanciale (cured pork cheek)
  • 1 red chilli
  • 400 g (14 oz) rigatoni, mezze maniche or bucatini pasta
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 350 g (12½ oz) fresh cherry tomatoes, chopped (or tinned chopped tomatoes)
  • 50 g (1¾ oz) Pecorino Romano, grated, plus extra for serving
  • 50 g (1¾ oz) Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, plus extra to serve

Heat a large frying pan. Cut the guanciale into chunky strips about 1 cm (½ inch) thick and add them to the pan with the whole chilli. Fry over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, or until the guanciale becomes dark and crunchy and the fat has melted. Turn off the heat.

Remove the guanciale using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Discard the chilli, but leave the leftover fat in the frying pan.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for the time indicated on the packet.

Meanwhile, add the olive oil to the leftover guanciale fat, then add the tomatoes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

Once the pasta is al dente, drain and add to the sauce, along with the cooked guanciale. Mix everything together, then turn off the heat and stir the pecorino and parmigiano through.

Serve with an extra sprinkling of cheese.

Authors Note: The tomato-based amatriciana is a Roman favourite, although its origins lie in the Lazio town of Amatrice, hence the name. In Rome, unlike what might be served up outside of Italy, amatriciana is made with pecorino cheese, tomato and guanciale (cured pork cheek). My friend Eleonora is seven generations Roman (in Rome you aren't considered Roman unless your bloodline dates back at least seven generations!), and her amatriciana is to die for, yet she defies tradition by adding some Parmigiano Reggiano and a hint of chilli.

You can stick with her version, or play around with this to make it your own. Serve it with either rigatoni, mezze maniche or bucatini pasta.

The publisher is offering copies of this book two copies of this book to EYB Members in the US and two copies to members in Australia and New Zealand (4 books in total) One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you try first?

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