Happy Birthday Rome!

According to Roman legend, the Eternal City was founded on April 21 in 753 BC.  Every travel brochure will tell you that Rome was created by Romulus and Remus, twins sons of Mars.  Abandoned as infants, the boys were saved from starvation by a she-wolf who nursed them.  I have often mused that perhaps this story of surviving hunger has contributed to the Roman passion for food.  Modern citizens of Rome will celebrate today with parades, concerts, street fairs and food – lots of food.

            Unlike most of Italy, Rome does not have particularly distinctive regional cuisine.  Roman cooking is best understood from the saying, “All roads lead to Rome.”  Roman cuisine is a collection of flavors transported to the city from all over Italy and abroad.   However, a few dishes seem to be associated with Rome more than any other region.  One of the most well known is Saltimbocca.  The dish features thin slices of veal or chicken breast topped with sage and proscuitto.  The dish evolved from a time in Rome when pork fat was commonly used for frying instead of butter or olive oil.  I usually use olive oil, however butter or pork fat is more traditional.

Chicken Saltimbocca alla Romana

4 halves boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1½ teaspoons dry, crushed sage

4 thin slices proscuitto

3 tablespoons lard, bacon fat, unsalted butter or olive oil

½ cup extra‑dry vermouth or other dry white wine

1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh parsley

Trim chicken breasts of any fat.  Place each breast between sheets of plastic wrap.  With a kitchen mallet, pound each breast, flattening to 1/8‑inch thick.  Sprinkle each breast with a little sage.  Place a slice of proscuitto on each breast and attach with toothpicks. Heat butter in a pan at medium-high heat.  Add chicken breasts in a single layer, with chicken side down.  Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, until lightly browned, and turn and cook on the other side.  Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter with proscuitto side up.  Remove toothpicks.

Increase heat in pan, add wine and scrape together the browned particles.  Add orange peel.  Pour the sauce over the Saltimbocca and sprinkle with parsley.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

In food history, it definitely was the egg.

The early Christian Church chose the egg as a symbol of Easter sometime in the Second Century. A few thousand years before that, the Greek and Egyptian civilizations had already adopted the egg as a symbol of birth, resurrection and eternity. Like their Hebrew ancestors, Jews today still use the egg to represent God in the ritual Passover feast.  Hindus also use eggs to represent a Supreme Being.  I don’t know any examples of chickens achieving such lofty status.

Before the Twentieth Century, Easter eggs were more commonly decorative items, not intended to be eaten.  These works of art were kept for years.  In Germany it was common practice to etch the owner’s name and date of birth onto the egg.  As late as the 1880’s, Easter eggs were still recognized as an official record of a person’s birth date.

The egg recipe that follows is a mix of culinary traditions.  Deviled eggs have been around for more 2 centuries.  “Deviled” was originally used to describe any food remotely spicy, such as mustard, curry, horseradish or pepper.  Marbled eggs are a much older dish from China.  Partially boiled eggs are cracked and then returned to boiling water with the addition of tea leaves.  When fully cooked and the shell is peeled away, the eggs have the appearance of marble stone.  My version uses food coloring, which produces a colorful spider-web pattern.  Marbled eggs can be peeled and eaten whole or halved to create deviled or stuffed eggs. 

Marbled Eggs with Deviled Crab Filling

12 large eggs

1 small bottle food coloring

¾ cup plain nonfat yogurt or mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon style mustard

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed

2/3 cup cooked crabmeat

1 green onion, fined chopped

1/4 cup diced, canned pimento

Place eggs in a pot with just enough cold water to reach the top of the eggs.  Bring water to a boil and cook for one minute.  Lift eggs from water and gently crack eggs.  Pour the food coloring into the water.  Return eggs to the water and continue cooking for 4 minutes.  Let stand in water 15 minutes before removing.  When cool enough to handle, remove shells from the eggs.  Cut the eggs in half lengthwise eggs and discard the yolks.  Wipe away any fragment of yolk from the cavity.  Arrange the egg halves, cavity side on a platter.  Chill until serving time.

Whisk together the yogurt, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Stir in the lemon zest.  Mix in all of the remaining ingredients.  Transfer to a small bowl and chill. Do not make more than 3 hours ahead.  Demonstrate for guests how to stuff their own eggs.  Other filling possibilities include the traditional deviled egg mixture, curried chicken or a thick pesto sauce. Yield:  24 egg halves