11 Cooking with Daniela del Balzo

THE DIVINE AROMA OF PEPPERS cooking in olive oil and garlic fills Daniela del Balzo’s kitchen. Six of us American travelers in Rome are hovering around her stove, sipping prosecco, nibbling bruschetta, stirring and chopping, under Daniela’s enthusiastic guidance. Her one-day cooking class is a lovely respite from the tourist treadmill of the bustling Eternal City. Today we’ve slowed down from visiting monuments and museums and are immersing ourselves in the heart and soul of the culinary traditions of Rome.

Daniela is a mamma-to-all type signora, who sets up her class as though she’s taking us along with her for a typical Roman day: shopping at the local market and cooking in her apartment. Her passion for cooking is boundless. She learned the traditional way—from her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, during her childhood in Naples. Then, after a twenty-year career working for Alitalia, she decided to go back to school to focus on her love for cooking. She studied at Italy’s renowned Gambero Rosso Cooking School, the French Culinary Arts School & Le Cordon Bleu, and the International Cooking School of Naples. Now she teaches from her home on Rome’s Aventine Hill. She’s married to a Roman, has a mother-in-law who lives two floors above her, and two 20-something sons—one who has also become a chef, following in her footsteps. Putting all these work and life experiences together, Daniela has created a program where she teaches Roman classics with professional flair, always adding a Neapolitan touch from her ancestors.

The class begins before lunch in the bustling Testaccio market. Rome’s slaughterhouse was once located here, and Testaccio became famous for its restaurants that featured quality meat dishes and Roman specialties from the quinto quarto (fifth quarter), meaning what’s left of the animal after butchering—oxtails, tripe, pajata (calf intestines), etc. Lately the neighborhood has become, as the Italians say, “trendy,” with clubs and hot spots, but discovering it with Daniela is the ideal way to connect with its roots.

She’s been shopping in Testaccio for years, and everywhere we go it feels like we’re tagging along with her on a family visit. I can’t help but compare my Los Angeles supermarket style—which involves rushing around with my cart, not speaking to a soul—to Daniela’s. With this signora, every encounter is leisurely and personal. The vendors ask about her sons, she tells them her cooking plans for the day, and then there’s serious teamwork to pick out the best peppers. Next there’s an intense discussion with her handsomest of butchers about the right amount of veal for lunch—and by the way, ladies, Daniela’s butcher is a major attraction of the market! The excursion is a sensory treat—we’re surrounded by abundant displays of deep green chicory, glistening anchovies, the first strawberries of spring.

We move on to Daniela’s apartment—a sophisticated, sunlit place, with cozy family antiques. Fun begins in the kitchen, where we tie on aprons, and learn as we go, to Daniela’s free-flowing teaching style. Her recipes are simple, but by watching her, we learn subtle techniques for bringing out the best flavors of the market’s ingredients. There’s the way to jiggle the pan to cook up saltimbocca—which translates to “jump in your mouth,” because the taste of the veal/prosciutto/sage combo is so lively. There’s an extra step in her peperonata recipe—covering the pan with a domed lid after sautéing, just before baking, so the result is a perfectly soft, creamy dish.

“It’s how my grandmother taught me,” Daniela says, smiling as she shares this memory. And so each of us slips into a long line of Italian tradition—learning the secrets behind the country’s delicious dishes, thanks to the abundant, generous spirit of its cooks.

TOURS