Catherine’s Roman Holiday

Time Schedule

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Overview

Top chef Catherine Fulvio returns to celebrate and share with us the food and food ethos of one of the world’s great gastronomical centres in Catherine’s Roman Holiday.

Catherine is our insider; she is the person who will get us access to the family homes and great restaurants of Rome and Italy. This time the emphasis will be on family food and Catherine will visit Italian families to get them to give her their secrets of handed down recipes. She wants to find inspiration from the city that invented the idea of modern food, as we know it – a city that has more Michelin starred restaurants than any other – for so long the centre of the gastronomical world.

There will be plenty of fun in the sun as Catherine, on her vespa, will criss-cross the eternal city, visiting friends, chefs, teachers, looking for inspiration in the markets, restaurants and homes of Romans.

Episode 1 –  Ancient Roman Food

Catherine Fulvio begins her search for inspiration in Rome’s Jewish Ghetto where she finds a hidden gem of a restaurant and she learns how the Jewish community has influenced Roman food.

Catherine meets the first of her Roman Home cooks, Rosaria, who shows her a salted cod dish and she cooks a hearty lamb casserole, some delicious bruschetta and makes a stunningly simple and delicious Peach and amaretti desert.

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Episode 2 – Street Food

Catherine’s search for inspiration on the streets of Rome takes her to a typical Roman bakery where she sees the speciality Piazza Bianco being made. She visits the home of the best coffee in Rome and follows in the footsteps of Michelle Obama making Ice cream in Rome’s best Ice Cream Parlour.

This week’s home cook is her cousin’s fiancé Guilia who makes pasta with potatoes and green beans. Catherine cooks the roman’s signature dish Saltimbocca Alla Romana, shows us the way to make a perfect lunchtime piazza and makes a simple alternative to homemade Ice Cream

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Episode 3 – Eat Like An Italian

Catherine cooks a pork dish for the whole family, a fantastic hand made starter gnocchi and a seasonal plum and mascarpone tart.

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Episode 4 – Luxury food

Catherine cooks a pasta dish with a difference after visiting Rome’s premier wine shop, she makes a chocolate torte inspired by a visit to the best chocolate shop in Rome where they invented the gift inside the Easter egg.

She cooks the most incredible Beef dish with Chianti and she visits her husband Claudio’s family on her continuing quest to find out what Roman’s cook at home’. Antonella his cousin cooks a fish stew and they have a wonderful family meal.

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Episode 5 – Dining Out

Catherine’s mission in Rome includes meeting Roman families and eating in their homes. This week she meets up with her friend Susan Cross from Dublin who has settled in Rome. Her husband Maurizio cooks some Roman classics and she learns about Romance in Rome.

Catherine meets the owner of La Rossetta, Rome’s best fish restaurant. She finds out about the Roman speciality Baccalla in a country style restaurant just off Rome’s main Piazza. In keeping with the theme of the show Catherine shows how to cook restaurant food at home, Sea Bass with pistachio, Pea and pesto risotto and strawberry meringue with balsamic vinegar.

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Episode 6 – Family Favourites

Catherine cooks a lasagne with a difference, a mouth watering apple cake and her own take on the old family favourite Macaroni and cheese.

Catherine meets an old friend of the family on her home cook quest. Simonetta has been an inspiration in the past and teaches Catherine how she makes a rustic oxtail stew.

A chance encounter with an Irish ex-pat gives her insight into fast food, and she meets a member of the Carbonara Club.

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Episode 7 – Shopping And Style

Catherine gets an insight into the legendary Italian propensity for style when she visits Spazio Sette the iconic kitchen utensils palazzo.

She gets a luncheon invitation from a Roman aristocrat on her quest to see what Romans cook at home and she finds that style doesn’t always break the bank on the streets of the Eternal City.

This weeks recipes are classic roman dishes, Catherine’s take on Carbonara, the hunter style Chicken Cacciatore and a dish fit for a queen Raspberries and panacotta.

Recipes:

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Episode 8 – Markets

Catherine learns the importance of markets to roman food. The daily shop for fresh seasonal ingredients has left it’s mark on Roman cuisine.  She meets an Irish American writer Maureen Fant who takes her to visit one of the most famous delicatessens in Rome where the range of high quality meats and cheese has Catherine enthralled. She is left gob smacked by Luigina, the home cook this week, and her polenta with pork and tomato sauce.

Catherine cooks meatballs with a twist, the classic Italian salad Insalata Caprese and a wonderfully fresh lunch courgette and Thyme Fritatta.

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