Developed over the centuries and influenced by waves of Sephardic migration when Jews were exiled from Spain and Portugal over the 15th and 16th Centuries, Roman Jewish dishes are often fried and typically feature almonds, artichokes, sour cherries, cod and preserved fish. Among these are some of the Eternal City’s most beloved recipes – expressly kosher yet iconic throughout largely Catholic Italy – from carciofi alla giudia (fried artichokes) to stracotto (braised pot roast). Today, they can be savoured in the string of Roman Jewish restaurants clustered near the southern banks of the Tiber River, in what was once the city’s Jewish ghetto.
“Every family has their own recipe, their own way of making a dish,” Bondì says. “Food is a strong presence in my home. Every Friday, before Shabbat, my grandmother would prepare the same thing – typical [Jewish] dishes like concia di zucchine [marinated fried courgettes] and abbacchio [roasted lamb] with potatoes.”
But behind the delicious recipes and family traditions is a tragic history. As a target of persecution throughout history – from 1st Century CE purges by Roman emperors Tiberius and Claudius to almost three centuries of ghetto confinement under Papal rule from 1555 to 1815 – Roman Jewish identity was forged in response to oppression, and its food is no exception.
“In the ghetto, Jews were forbidden from trading, and this influenced many of our dishes,” Bondì says. “Like how ricotta cheese is hidden in our tarts [so] the Pope’s Guards wouldn’t notice. Or our famous fish soup [brodo di pesce] made of sardines, was because we weren’t allowed to buy prized fish, only anchovies and sardines.”
Today, Rome’s former ghetto – sandwiched between heavily touristed landmarks like the Roman Forum and Campo de’ Fiori marketplace – is a picturesque, lively Jewish quarter of meandering cobblestone alleyways, bakeries and restaurants, but it still emanates the joy and pain of its roots.
Here are Bondì’s top ways to savour Rome’s hidden Jewish soul.
Dining and Cooking