Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome's Jewish Kitchen
Description
A leading authority on Jewish food, Leah Koenig celebrates la cucina Ebraica Romana within the pages of her new cookbook. Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome's Jewish Kitchen features over 100 deeply flavorful recipes and beautiful photographs of Rome's Jewish community, the oldest in Europe. The city's Jewish residents have endured many hardships, including 300 years of persecution inside the Roman Jewish Ghetto. Out of this strife grew resilience, a deeply knit community, and a uniquely beguiling cuisine. Today, the community thrives on Via del Portico d'Ottavia (the main road in Rome's Ghetto neighborhood)--and beyond.
Leah Koenig's recipes showcase the cuisine's elegantly understated vegetables, saucy braised meats and stews, rustic pastas, resplendent olive oil-fried foods, and never-too-sweet desserts. Home cooks can explore classics of the Roman Jewish repertoire with Stracotto di Manzo (a wine-braised beef stew), Pizza Ebraica (fruit-and-nut-studded bar cookies), and, of course, Carciofi alla Giudia, the quintessential Jewish-style fried artichokes. A standout chapter on fritters--showcasing the unique gift Roman Jews have for delicate frying--includes sweet honey-soaked matzo fritters, fried salt cod, and savory potato pastries (burik) introduced by the thousands of Libyan Jews who immigrated to Rome in the 1960s and '70s. Every recipe is masterfully tailored to the home cook, while maintaining the flavor and integrity of tradition. Suggested menus for holiday planning round out the usability and flexibility of these dishes.
A cookbook for anyone who wants to dive more deeply into Jewish foodways, or gain new insight into Rome, Portico features the makers and creators who are keeping Roman Jewish food alive today, transporting us to the bustling streets of the Eternal City while also making us feel--as we cook and eat--very much at home.
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About the Author
Reviews
A talented interpreter of both cuisine and culture, Leah Koenig combines her celebrated research skills and cooking chops with a tenderness that brings Rome's Jewish recipes and stories to life. I'm heartened to know that any time I want, I can simply open Portico to bring authentic, soulful Jewish Rome into my home kitchen.--Adeena Sussman, author of Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen
How do you distill Europe's most ancient Jewish cuisines into a single volume without compromising their richness? Ask Leah Koenig, who has assembled recipes that paint a complete portrait of Rome's cucina ebraica, from long-rooted favorites like concia and pomodori a mezzo to the spiced and garlicky cershi and tbeha of the Libyan diaspora.--Katie Parla, author of Food of the Italian Islands
Let Leah Koenig be your guide to the centuries-long history and culinary splendors of Roman Jewish food. These dishes feature everything I love about Jewish cooking--warming stews, pickled things, international flavors from Jewish diasporas, and, of course, creative takes on cooking with matzo, seen through the lens of Italy's produce-driven cuisine. Koenig's recipes are fresh and weeknight-friendly with crystal clear explanations on less-obvious techniques, like preparing and frying Roman Jewish artichokes.--Lucy Simon "Food & Wine"
Koenig's well-researched journey delivers a wealth of history, detailing waves of immigration that shaped Roman Jewish cuisine.--Sarah Tansley "Library Journal"
Sumptuous . . . Koenig delivers a lively tale of modern-day Roman Jewish food culture, peppering it with bright and enticing photography and histories and anecdotes from Jewish chefs, butchers, and others living in the Eternal City.--Jessica S. Levy "Booklist"
A vibrant culinary tour. . . . Koenig's inviting introduction to Roman Jewish fare is sure to inspire home cooks of any faith.-- "Publishers Weekly"
It was only recently that I explored the food of Rome's Jewish community. Between olive-oil-soaked vegetables and crispy fried artichokes, I couldn't get enough. I can't wait to bring these recipes into my own kitchen with Koenig's newest cookbook.--Sheela Prakash, author of Salad Seasons, in Food & Wine
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