Getting to Know Trattoria Polese in Rome

Step into Trattoria Polese, tucked in the corner of the cobblestoned Piazza Sforza Cesarini, and you'll be transported back in time. With its rustic brick walls and towering vaulted ceilings, the dining room pays homage to its past, a palazzo, once the illustrious home to the Borgias, a prominent family that rose to power during the Italian Renaissance. A regal pedigree for a trattoria that is deliciously down-to-earth.

Trattoria Polese's dining room retains its palatial feel.

"Ours is a typical Roman trattoria where we prepare dishes using the best traditions," says owner Lorenzo Polese, the second generation of the Polese family to stir things up in the kitchen. His father, Biagio, a self-taught chef who honed his craft while working aboard cruise ships and in restaurants in New York City, opened the trattoria back in 1960. Sadly, the elder Polese passed in 1980. "The restaurant has undergone several changes since those early days," Lorenzo explains, but it's still true to its roots.

While his current chefs—three in all—are masters at preparing traditional Roman fare, with little interest in "nouvelle cuisine," they are willing to take chances and experiment with current trends. Take their carbonara, for instance. Trattoria Polese reinvents this classic dish with fresh asparagus. Their lasagna surprises with fiori di zucca or fresh zucchini flowers, a Roman favorite. And their smoked pork shank roasted in beer, is tender and richly flavorful.

Trattoria Polese way back in the day!

Yet Trattoria Polese offers plenty of Roman standards to please even a purist such as abbacchio al forno, roasted lamb infused with olive oil and rosemary, coda alla vaccinara or braised oxtail stew, and of course, baccalà, deep fried cod fillets so loved by the locals.

In warm weather, enjoy your dinner outside underneath the shade of majestic trees that flower in early spring. The trattoria also houses an impressive wine cellar with vintages from Northern Italy.

"We all feel at ease here," Polese adds. "Our trattoria is informal but we're attentive!"

Trattoria Polese
Piazza Sforza Cesarini, 40
Rome
Telephone: +39 06 686 1709
Trattoria Polese website
Google map

Trattoria Polese is just one of 80 trattorie and osterie featured in Chow Italy: Eat Well, Spend Less (Rome 2013).

Bolognese or Ragù Style Meat Sauce Recipe

Classic Ragù Sauce

Nothing says "comfort food" like Bolognese sauce. But cooking up a pot of it takes a bit of a commitment. It's not especially complicated to master, mind you, nor does it call for any perfecting Italian ingredients that are sometimes hard to come by here in the States. It just takes time—time to finely chopped the vegetables; time to layer all the ingredients one by one in the pot. And finally, time to slowly cook, allowing all the ingredients to meld deliciously together. A good ragù should simmer away for a minimum of four hours making it the perfect recipe to fix on a cold, wintry weekend day. But your efforts are greatly rewarded with the complex flavors of a true Italian treasure.

I've adapted my meat sauce recipe from Marcella Hazan's The Classic Italian Cookbook; the art of Italian cooking and the Italian art of eating. As you can see, my copy is an old edition but it's filled with great recipes nonetheless! Hazan is a master Italian chef, giving precise instructions. It may seem like overkill to some but trust me, the end result is simply sublime. For instance, Hazan demands that you finely chop the vegetables so they'll nearly dissolve in the sauce during cooking. (She right.) Next, per Marcella's strict instructions, be sure to add the tomatoes after all the milk has evaporated. This, she says, gives a sweet flavor to the meat. And finally, don't be in a rush; the sauce must barely simmer on the stove for hours. Don't stress—just pour yourself a glass of wine, turn on some opera, and fill your kitchen with the aromas of Italy. One final note: This is a meat sauce, hearty and dense, not marinara. So if you're looking for a thin, delicate saucy-saucy, move on, sister.

Classic Ragù Style Meat Sauce

4 tbsp. finely chopped onion
4 tbsp. finely chopped carrot
4 tbsp. finely chopped celery
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. butter
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup whole milk or half & half
1/8 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 - 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, seeds and stems removed, roughly chopped

1.) In a stock pot with deep sides (so the sauce won't reduce too quickly), sauté chopped onions in the butter and olive oil until translucent. Add chopped carrots and celery. Cook slowly for an additional five minutes.

Finely chop the vegetables 

2.) Add meat to the pot, breaking it up into small pieces with your cooking spoon. Sprinkle with salt. Cook gently until the meat loses its pink color. Do not over cook by browning the meat! Add the wine and turn up the heat to medium high, stirring until all the wine has evaporated.

3.) Turn heat back down to medium low and add whole milk (I prefer half & half for its richer flavor). Stir frequently until all milk has evaporated. Add freshly grated nutmeg (but jarred nutmeg is sufficient, too).

4.) Stir in chopped tomatoes. Once sauce begins to bubble, turn heat down to its lowest setting. If your stove doesn't have a "simmer" setting, place the pot off to the side so only a portion of flame hits the pot.

5.) Simmer partially covered for a minimum of three hours; four to five is optimal. Stir occasionally making sure the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom. You may need to add a bit of water if you find the sauce evaporating too quickly.

Buon appetito!