The first thing Giada eats when she lands in Rome? Pizza bianca!
Pizza bianca with mortadella has had a place in my heart since I was kid. I used to eat it for lunch in Italy almost daily, and the tradition still stands when I touch down in Rome to visit my mother. I always make my first stop in the city at Antico Forno Roscioli, a 50-year-old institution near the Campo de' Fiori.
Unlike the round, puffy Neapolitan-style pizza that is so well-known, Roman pizza dough is rolled in long sheets and brushed with olive oil, making it thin and super crispy. It's often baked as-is to make pizza bianca, then cut in rectangular slices that can be eaten plain or stuffed after baking. At Roscioli, which has a sister salumeria where they make delicious salumi, the housemade mortadella is out of this world!
Pizza bianca is quintessentially Roman, and though it's a dish not everyone understands as first, it only takes a few bites to become a believer. It's like the best pita pocket in the world, only Italian! Whenever the craving strikes when I'm at home in L.A., I head to Bay Cities for the best mortadella in town and whip it up for Jade and I—like her mom, she loves it too.
Where to get it in Rome:
Antico Forno Roscioli
Via Dei Chiavari, 34
+39 066864045
Tap here to read our Rome guide for more recommendations.
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