Get to know the food of Lazio This focus on the capital is perhaps why Lazian cuisine is mostly famous for its dishes rather than the ingredients and products grown and made there. The surrounding countryside, however, provides plenty of culinary gems – artichokes, puntarelle and cauliflowers are highly prized, while artisans produce the excellent guanciale and pecorino romano needed for Rome’s beloved pastas. Lazio has a significant coastline which is often overlooked, despite being home to some beautiful beaches (Romans often descend en masse on the seaside towns of Ostia and Fregene during the summer to escape the heat of the city).
You’ll find some amazing shoreside restaurants serving incredible fish and seafood there, which is a completely different cuisine to the pasta-and-meat-heavy dishes further inland. Rome is, of course, a must-visit in Italy, but the surrounding region is well worth a look too. Our hero recipe from Lazio by Leonardo Pieri Buti, executive chef at Italian restaurant Paper Moon at The OWO (Old War Office) hotel This is an iconic dish of Rome’s ‘quinto quarto’ (fifth quarter) cuisine, which focuses on offal cookery.
The offal in question here is oxtail, a beautiful cut that melts and falls apart once slow-cooked, and pairs particularly well with celery. The large amount of cocoa powder gives the sauce an earthy depth, while the raisins add little pops of sweetness. “You can serve this as the main event, perhaps with some polenta, or rem.
