When pulling
the next country, Vatican City didn’t seem likely to have a cuisine associated
with its culture. It’s smack dab in the middle of Rome. I figured it would just
be Roman Italian food. Or perhaps, whatever the country of origin of the
current Pope.
After researching, I found there isn’t a particular cuisine but there is a particular recipe that was created
for Pope Pius XII. From http://memoriediangelina.com/2009/07/06/fettuccine-alla-papalina/:
Fettuccine alla papalina, or “Fettuccine for
the Pope”, is an upscale reinterpretation of the earthy spaghetti alla
carbonara. The story goes that the dish was prepared for a certain Cardinal
Pacelli, soon to become Pope Pius XII, who had asked the owner of a restaurant
in the Borgo (the area of Rome that lies between the Vatican and the Tiber
River) to make him a more delicate version of the classic Roman dish. So, the
restauranteur came up with this more refined dish, substituting fettuccine for
the usual spaghetti, prosciutto for the guanciale, Parmesan for the pecorino,
and adding a splash of cream.
So, there
you go. Vatican City food. Who knew?
I made fresh
pasta and whipped up the dish. The dish is very good and something I would definitely make
again.
When getting ready to pull the next country, my thought was: Please, a country with an actual cuisine (sorry Iceland) and no huge political issues! Up next: Paraguay.
