I am currently on a family holiday in Italy, and this being the first time in the country for all of us, we were naturally excited about being able to sample the sheer breadth of Italian cuisine in their most authentic possible settings. One of our first blog-worthy meals in Rome was in a little family trattoria this evening called Re di Roma, a stone's throw from the pensione where we were staying. We were all a little tired from the early morning flight, and it was a rather chilly spring evening, so we were glad to find a couple of highly regarded eateries on Tripadvisor in our vicinity for some simple comfort food.
We had not thought to make reservations, which was probably a mistake on a Saturday evening. When we got there at around 8.30 pm it was still full, so we had to wait outside (the space is really quite small) while the owner kindly tried to make space for us despite not having reserved a table. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait too long (about 15 minutes or so) as some early diners were leaving. We ended up by the steps just beyond the doors - somewhat drafty, but still better than nothing.
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| As far as I could tell everyone else was Italian - always a good sign! |
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| Very simple and homely wall decorations. |
The restaurant seems to be run by only a husband-and-wife team, with the wife cooking and the husband serving customers. The energetic middle-aged husband doesn't speak much English so he can't really get as chatty with tourists as he does with fellow Italians, but he is at least able to recommend dishes, and the menu does come with a translation. A word about service before I get on with the food (which was really lovely, by the way): if you arrive on a busy evening be prepared for extremely slow service. This simple dinner took us about 2 hours (!) in all and we actually decided to forgo dessert because that might have added an extra hour or so. Sometimes we feared that our orders had been forgotten by the husband, who looked rather overwhelmed and flustered this evening.
Our orders arrived slowly but surely. This is mixed bruschetti, a popular Italian starter consisting of pieces of toasted bread with different toppings.
The bread was a little dry and tough but the toppings more than compensated for this. The diced tomatoes, possibly the most common topping for this starter, were really sweet and juicy. Combined with a sprinkling of herbs and olive oil, this was wonderfully fresh and flavourful. The others were no less delightful; the bruschetta with a rich and grainy black olive spread left a particularly deep impression with its intense briny taste - here was the fruit in its full concentrated glory. The Parma ham with its slightly creamy texture (due to the fat) and nutty taste was really good too.
Next, one pasta main each: this was my amatriciana, a typical Roman-style pasta with bacon, pomodoro (tomato) sauce, grated black pepper and Pecorino Romano cheese.
The first thing that I noticed was the al dente texture of the pasta. Up till now, I hadn't really known what a true al dente was - foreign restaurants tend to cook their spaghetti too soft, which isn't helped either by the fact that individual strands are usually much thinner than what you see here. This pasta in front of me possessed a truly lovely firm bite, which stood up perfectly to the viscous sauce that accompanied it. On that note, if you think tomato sauce is just that, this would change your mind. One can always tell when the sauce is homemade without cutting corners. I found it nothing short of miraculous how tomatoes could be made so rich and tasty - must be an Italian thing! Generous sprinklings of bacon, black pepper and cheese enhanced the overall flavour even further. This was perfect comfort food for a chilly evening.
This was my mum's pasta with walnut sauce and tomatoes, a most unusual combination.
She had chosen it based on the menu description. No cheese, perfect she thought - like a lot of older Chinese people she doesn't take to the aroma and taste very well. Still came with a generous sprinkling of Pecorino, but after moving most of it to my plate (yes please!) whatever that remained in fact enhanced this relatively mild pasta dish very effectively with a pleasant sharpness and saltiness. The combination of walnut and tomato worked surprisingly well, delicately balancing the tangy and the savoury. The bitter nutty edge was apparent but not overwhelming. There was somewhat lesser sauce, though all the flavour seemed to have been soaked up by the pasta.
As expected, she also found the al dente texture rather firmer than she's used to - there's always a first time for everything I suppose!
Lastly, my partner's carbonara, another Roman-style pasta that is known all over the world. Very similar to my amatriciana in fact, but using a rich egg-based sauce in place of tomatoes.
Carbonara pasta as we know it outside Italy is typically an artificial cream-drenched affair which clogs arteries without really satisfying the tastebuds. Here, a substantial combination of eggs, cheese and olive oil made for a sauce that was not only infinitely more complex in flavour but also somewhat lighter on the stomach, without compromising its creamy textural appeal. There was also just the right amount of sauce to pasta, which left one feeling very satisfied but not bloated. Lovely!
We also ordered two sides to share - this is potatoes and broccoli sautéed with garlic and chilli.
This Italian version of a vegetable stir-fry was delicious. When one cooks with good olive oil and fresh ingredients, very little else is needed. Here, only touches of garlic and chilli were necessary to enhance the aroma of the dish and stimulate the palate at the outset.
We also had a very typical springtime dish of carciofi alla romana, literally Roman-style artichokes.
This heavier artichoke dish braised with a mixture of herbs, garlic, white wine and olive oil was a first for all of us, and we stupidly tried to eat the hard and fibrous outer leaves before realising that the heart was what really mattered (pun intended!). The flaky artichoke heart was naturally tender, juicy and bittersweet, while the condiments imparted further aromas and depths of flavour. Despite its seemingly unappealing look, this dish is apparently a lot more difficult to prepare than it seems. All in all, a really interesting initial experience with this vegetable.
As mentioned earlier, it was well past 10 pm when we finished our savoury courses, and decided to call it an evening. It was a shame somewhat, as I'm sure the desserts would have been pretty good - but we just had no idea how long more they might take. In summary - highly recommended, but come with lots of time and patience to spare!
