Day 4 Away Day In Rome
Two books today!
Since it’s unlikely I’ll be doing much travelling this year, I have been doing it virtually. I have always wanted to go to Rome, so here goes:
Falco is rightly famous, but have you met his daughter, Albia?
The Ides of April, Lindsey Davis
Falco - the second generation: we have moved on some years from Nemesis, but I haven't had time to work out how many. Flavia Albia, the street child that Falco and Justinia adopted in Britain, has set up her own business as an informer and is living in Fountain Court, using Falco's old attic as her office. Now twenty-nine, she has been widowed for about ten years. She is smart, independent and her own woman.
A child has been knocked down and killed by an overloaded cart. Albia has been hired by the cart's owner to see what evidence there is that shows she is liable and might cost her money. It is not a job Albia particularly likes, but she has to make a living. The Aedile (who has responsibility for maintaining public order) has posted a notice about the incident requesting witnesses. Albia goes to his office to see if anybody has responded. There she meets the Aedile's archivist, Andronicus, attractive, funny and charming. There is an instant rapport.
Albia's client dies suddenly and unexpectedly. It comes to Albia's notice that a few other people have died in the same way. She and Andronicus start to investigate the possibility of a serial killer haunting the Aventine. Albia's task is complicated by run-ins with another of the Aedile's employees, the runner, Tiberius who is also chasing the killer.
The plot is complicated and involved and seen from the narrator, Albia's, point of view. We see what happens through her eyes and when she makes a mistake or is disappointed, we feel it with her. The result is very satisfying.
I was worried when I started this book that this would be Falco Mark 2, or worse, the further adventures of Justinia. It isn't. Albia is a fully rounded individual and utterly believable.
What I found very interesting was the portrayal of Rome. It is subtly different from Falco's Rome. Albia is female. She did not arrive in Rome until she was fifteen. Her life before her adoption was harsh and brutal. After her adoption she was relatively well off and her security was assured. All this means her view of Rome is different from Falco's. That does not mean it is any less real. You get a real feel for the vibrancy of the city, of what is allowed and not allowed, of how everyday life was for ordinary people. However, none of this background detail is allowed to dominate Albia or the plot.
Does Falco have a presence in this novel? You will have to read it and see.
There are to date eight Albia Flavia books and although each book is a complete story a string is left dangling at the end of each that needs to be tied up so the need to read on is essential . . .
This is one of my favourite cookery books:
As the Romans Do, Eleonora Galasso
Truth to tell, I really shouldn’t need any more Italian cookery books. I already own an embarrassing number. I was expecting a new presentation of the same old recipes, beautifully produced but nothing really new. But I was wrong! There are lots of new recipes and they are delicious. Thinking about it, most Italian cookery books concentrate on a speciality food like pasta or pizza, or food from Sicily, or, more usually the north, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna. Unless you buy one of the huge comprehensive Italian cookbooks, like Cucina Italia or the Silver Spoon, you do not see the everyday food of middle Italy. This is Roman food – the food they eat at breakfast, elevenses, fast lunches, with the family, for happiness and festivities. The sub-title is La Dolce Vita in a Cookbook and it is apt.
The recipes are not, for the most part, difficult. The ingredients are easy to get. What surprises me is how logical they seem. I kept saying to myself – why did I not think of doing that? An example: Roman style chicken with peppers – how would it differ from other chicken with peppers dishes? It is cooked in two pans and garnished with olives, basil and flaked almonds. The two pans ensure that the chicken is not over cooked, while still gaining the flavours of the sauce, and that the sauce is reduced properly. The garnish just adds perfection. The deliciousness makes the washing up of two pans irrelevant. That is just one example. I could go on, but I won’t. Everything I have tried so far has been gorgeous.
The food, of course, is the most important thing, but I must mention how beautiful the book is. The photographs of Rome are beautiful. The text also does not disappoint. A lovely, lovely book.
Food
A Roman Dish
Pasta with chicken liver sauce
The ideal pastas for this sauce are fettuccine or tagliatelle.
· 250g chicken livers,
· 3 tbsp olive oil
· 20g butter
· 1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
· 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely diced
· 50g pancetta, diced
· 6 whole sage leaves
· Salt and black pepper
· 1 heaped tsp tomato concentrate dissolved in 150ml vermouth or marsala
· 600g fresh fettuccine or tagliatelle or 500g dried
· 100g pecorino or parmesan, grated
Method
1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil for the pasta.
2. Trim the chicken liver of any sinew or discolouration. Wash and pat them dry, then slice the liver into strips (not too fine).
3. In a heavy based frying pan, over a medium-low flame, warm the olive oil and butter and fry the onion until soft and translucent.
4. Add the garlic, pancetta and sage. Cook and stir.
5. Turn up the heat, add the chicken livers and fry, stirring, until they have lost any red colour.
6. Add the tomato dissolved in vermouth/wine and reduce to a simmer for a few minutes – long enough for the liver to gather flavours, but not too long as to get rubbery.
7. Meanwhile, salt the boiling water, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta, keeping back some pasta cooking water.
8. Tip the pasta into the chicken livers, sprinkle with cheese and toss, adding a little cream or pasta cooking water (if you don’t want it too rich) if it seems stiff and serve.
Picture of the Day
The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio.
Caravaggio was born on 29th September 1571 in Milan and died on 18th July, 1610. I know that this painting is in the National Gallery in London, but it was painted, like most of his major works, in Rome.
I know this picture very well because I had a student who chose to write a major essay on it. He was barely literate and always asserted he was only at College for the Life Class (from which he was eventually expelled for harassing the models). He needed a lot of support and twice weekly for two terms he would come to my office and we would discuss and write about this painting. It is remarkable that I still love it.
The figures are wonderful, dramatic and beautifully constructed, but it is the food which is truly amazing.
Here is a lecture from the National Gallery about Caravaggio and this painting. It’s fascinating. (It has subtitles)
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-the-supper-at-emmaus
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