Rachel Roddy

Rome

Writer at The Guardian

Writer at Freelance

Writing, mostly about food, in Rome.

Articles

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for almond and potato cake with lemon curd and mascarpone | A kitchen in Rome

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Rachel Roddy

Writing in 1891, in his cooking manual La Scienza in Cucina e L’arte di Mangiar Bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well), Pellegrino Artusi introduces the potato as a tuber from the solanaceae (nightshade) family that was native to South America and introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for pasta (or gnocchi) with aubergine, chilli, lemon and salted ricotta | A kitchen in Rome

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Rachel Roddy

I have joked in the past about the peeled flesh of a baked aubergine and how, when sitting in a sieve balanced over the sink, it looks like a damp, grubby dishcloth. Well, a week or so ago, I lived this joke when I reached for a dishcloth that was, rather oddly, sitting on a plate, and for a nanosecond I thought that things really had reached a low for the cloth to be not just grubby, but slimy. That was before I realised I was about to pick up an aubergine and future baba ganoush.
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for sausages with braised chicory | A kitchen in Rome

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Rachel Roddy

From Tuesday to Saturday, Andrea Legri makes approximately three kilos of sausage a day for his stall on Testaccio market. At about nine on any given morning, he may well be in the back section of the stall, which is visible through glass, his hands steadying the tabletop machine that feeds the minced pork into opaque casings.
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for pasta with peas, cream, lemon and cheese | A kitchen in Rome

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Rachel Roddy

Peas freeze quickly because they are small. And, because they are small, so are the crystals that form when the water in their taut cells (imagine many minuscule balloons) turns to ice. And small crystals cause far less damage, puncturing and ripping to cell walls, which means that, when the pea defrosts and the ice returns to water, the cell walls are able to hold it, resulting in a firmer pea.
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for mushrooms stuffed with anchovies, breadcrumbs and herbs | A kitchen in Rome

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Rachel Roddy

Among the endless brilliant advice in Jane Grigson’s The Mushroom Feast is a note about size that is really helpful. It is in relation to the cultivated mushrooms readily available in greengrocers and supermarkets, the controlled development of which she reveals to be as every bit as fascinating as the mysterious appearance of wild ones. Grigson reminds us that small button mushrooms are exactly that: small and immature.
Weekend cooking projects

1 month ago | bbc.co.uk | Donal Skehan |Rachel Roddy |Hugo Harrison |Mary Berry

These delicious little savoury parcels are so dainty but so moreish – try them once and you’ll be hooked. Choose from two delicious options: go meaty with pork mince or try a crab and prawn version.
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for flatbreads stuffed with spinach and cheese | A kitchen in Rome

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Rachel Roddy

This week’s recipe involves making a dough of flour (any flour), water, olive oil, thick plain yoghurt and salt, and it requires no rising agent and no resting. Thanks to the olive oil and yoghurt, it is a dough that comes together easily and behaves in a way that reminds me of warm putty, coming away from the sides of the bowl, hardly sticking to the hands and almost bringing itself into a neat ball.
Rachel Roddy’s recipe fot hazelnut, spelt and butter biscuits | A kitchen in Rome

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Rachel Roddy

Seven years ago, I walked along Oxford Street in London with the baker and writer Henrietta Inman. I can’t remember where we’d been in order to be illuminated by Foot Locker and Muji at midnight, but I do remember we talked about spelt flour.
‘Smells a bit honky’: Rachel Roddy tests the best (and worst) supermarket pesto

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Rachel Roddy

It is true that pesto is an incredibly useful jar to have in the cupboard. It is also true that pesto is a hard thing to preserve in a jar in a way that tastes nice. This is especially true if you are working to keep costs down – as consumers, we can all do ballpark sums for the cost of herbs, nuts, cheese and olive oil. I think one of the problems lies with the herbs’ tendency to get a bit muggy during processing, though some makers are doing quite a good job.
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for cabbage stuffed with rice, chestnuts and cheese | A kitchen in Rome

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Rachel Roddy

It just so happened that I was back in London a few weeks ago, so I could attend a bash to commemorate and celebrate the life of food historian and typographer Gillian Riley. It was a beautiful, lively occasion organised by Gillian’s family and friends, and held at Room 71-73 in north London, just a few streets from the house she and her partner, James, lived and worked in so prolifically for many years.

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Rachel Roddy

Rachel Roddy @racheleats

27 Nov 24

For polenta and my Bluesky account https://t.co/AJj09lHTfM

Rachel Roddy

Rachel Roddy @racheleats

27 Nov 24

Morning - I have opened an account on Bluesky and will be posting my column there, now, and closing this one in December. Looking forward to exchanging message about potatoes there!

Rachel Roddy

Rachel Roddy @racheleats

27 Nov 24

Ha, good work! Looks ace. That kilncraft is wonderful - did you have cups too? X

Helen Segebarth (A981194)

Helen Segebarth (A981194) @helenterrapin

This week's @racheleats Polenta with mushrooms https://t.co/dDJSax72kw My first go with polenta- really easy to make & tasted delicious. Used quick cook polenta so no need for an audiobook/wine/legal cannabis! Ooh, the plate... reminds me of Kilncraft Bacchus from my childhood! https://t.co/ScqqkV8asL