Italy Rome Street food in Rome: what to try and where

Street food is not very associated with Italy, is it? In fact, from the time of ancient Rome, dishes were prepared and sold right on the street. The warm climate, the sociable disposition of the locals, and poverty, of course, made street food the basis of the culinary culture of southern Italy. We offer a Roman top 7 dishes that you can’t pass by!

1. Pizza bianca or white pizza, that is, pizza without anything

This pizza resembles a Genoese focaccia (or fugassa, as the Ligurians call it), but confusing them is an insult to the Roman. Pizza bianca appeared by chance: antique bakers put a piece of rolled dough in the oven to check the degree of heating, and once decided not to throw it away. So this pizza became a hit and a favorite city snack. Important: buy it not in pizzerias, but in bakeries, preferably early in the morning.

Another typical Roman variant is pizza e mortazza (a kind of white pizza). Mortaz in Rome is called mortadella. The same white pizza, in the middle of which an incision is made and two or three pieces of mortadella are placed there - classic or with pistachios.

2. Roman pinsa (pinsa romana)

Not to be confused with pizza! It is believed that pins are not only ancient, but also superior to pizza in terms of taste. The pins are oval or rectangular; and the dough is not rolled out during cooking, but stretched (lat. pinsere - stretched). The correct pins are digested better than regular pizza, because the dough should be longer for it.

3. Filetti di baccalà in pastella (salted cod fillet in batter)

The fish is soaked for a long time in cold water so that salt comes out of it, and then fried in a sauce of flour, milk and eggs. This dish was invented in the Jewish ghetto, and from there it migrated to the tables of Roman Catholics: cod fillet was an excellent substitute for meat during fasting (Catholics are allowed to eat fish in fasting). For a long time, “bacalla” was also a traditional Christmas dish. And today it is considered the emblem of Roman street food.

4. Supplì al telefono (rice balls with meat, cheese and mozzarella)

Rice balls with meat, cheese and mozzarella Al telefono (by phone) are called so because when you bite off a piece, hot mozzarella stretches like a telephone wire.