THE REGIONAL CUISINES SERIES

POSTPONED TO SATURDAY 24/03 at 8:30pm

backdoorkitchen47@gmail.com

If the Roman aristocracy and clergy opulent feasts didn’t survive the proof of time, the Cucina Romana, traditional modern Roman Cuisine mostly developed during the Papal States Era, actually did. Having roots in rural and family poor recipes, the Roman cuisine is also strongly influenced by foreign cultures, be them occasional invaders or permanent communities passing through the history of the Eternal City. Simple ingredients like local herbs, pulses, vegetables, few cheeses and cheap meat cuts , if not offal of butchered animals, make the most of this unique cuisine. The people of Rome, suffering the outrageous Papal sovereignty, pitiless invaders and turmoils following the Italian unification,  and used to make the most from quite a little, never let themselves down and are renown for their wittiness and sarcasm with which they always tried to overcome difficulties and bad times. The way Rome lived, Rome actually ate. From poor ingredients people easily developed a comfy, tasty and rich cuisine with popular dishes that are today served all over the world. During the Dolce Vita years Rome Osterias were home for actors such as Marcello Mastroianni, Audrey Hepburn, Sofia Loren, Charlton Heston and many others as that same rural poor dishes became increasingly popular among Hollywood stars. Today Rome is an historical landmark not just for its long history but also for its fine food and wine.

In our next supperclub, Chef has decided to start this brand new series of Italian regional cuisine inspired nights, coming back to his hometown culinary origins and giving our guests the more traditional recipes of his chidhood and creating some new recipes from that centuries old ingredients that made modern Roman cuisine so great. Courses will be Italian “assaggi” which translates something in between mains and tapas dishes.

And now, the menu!

Complimentary glass of prosecco

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Gricia con cipolle caramellate – Homemade pasta with Roman pancetta (Guanciale), caramelised red onions and Pecorino Romano cheese.

Carciofi alla Giudìa con crema Cacio e Pepe – Deep-fried artichokes with a cream made from traditional Roman cheeses.

Gnocchi alla Carbonara di Zucchine – Homemade potato and flour gnocchi with a courgette carbonara sauce and saffron.

Baccalà con crema di ceci, rosmarino e pancetta – Salt cod with chickpea cream, rosemary emulsion, crispy pancetta and toasted bread

Saltimbocca alla Romana – Chicken breasts cooked in a white wine sauce with Italian cured ham, mature cheddar and sage.

Seppioline ripiene di broccoli ripassati e crema al nero di seppia – Char-grilled squid stuffed with broccoli sauteed with garlic and chilli and a sprinkle of a secret squid ink sauce on top!

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Secret Dessert – Chef’s family recipe!

Suggested donation: £25

Dinner starts at 20:30 on Saturday 24/03

A few rules of the house

We run a BYO (bring your own bottle) policy which is the more you bring the more you drink, the more you share with your table mates.

We support a “Tip as you like” spirit at the end of the dinner.

We can cope with allergies and dietary requirements only if told with at least 3 days notice before the event.

Guests are kindly asked to turn up on time. Lateness is not polite to the other guests and the dwarf gets really grumpy about it.

backdoorkitchen47@gmail.com