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Historic Street Food in the Eternal City.
Pizza Ebraica quickly translates to Jewish pizza and is like no other pizza you’ve ever had. It’s an unattractive biscuit block – a a mix of sugar, flour, raisins, candied fruits, almonds, and pine nuts baked in the oven. And it’s a cult pastry.
For years, I’ve been a patron of Forno Boccione, a tiny no frills bakery in Rome’s Jewish Ghetto buying what I consider my local power bar. About the length of my hand, and the height and width of three fingers, the nut and candied fruit-filled pizza ebraica has the power to quell my hunger for an entire 24-hour period. It is one of my favorite bites in the world, and it has a centuries-old story which tour guide Sara Pavoncello knows best.
“Everyone knows their own version of the recipe”
Food always has a story, but pizza ebraica is particular. It is a centuries-old recipe and tradition of the Rome’s Jewish Community, which could be considered the last of the original Romans. And Sara is part of it. One her mother’s side she can trace her family lives in the community to late 15th century, while her father’s side boasts nearly two millennia of history as true descendants of the original community from the years before Emperor Vespasian, circa 1st century AD. As a tour guide, Sara shares the incredible history of the Rome’s Ghetto and Jewish community, and as a friend she shares with me the story of pizza ebraica- or pizza di beridde – “pizza eaten to celebrate milestones in life”.
In this Episode
[00:58] History of Rome’s Jewish Ghetto through tour guide Sara Pavoncello
[04:04] We’ll learn all about pizza ebraica
[06:10] We’ll find out about the Boccione family: the all-female bakers behind the pizza Ebraica
[10:33] And we’ll talk more treats from Boccione family bakery
