Tools and Equipment

You can cook most Roman dishes pretty much anywhere with whatever gear you’ve got on hand. Sure, some gadgets make life easier: for slicing puntarelle , although a sharp knife and patience work fine; a chitarra turns out consistently shaped Tonnarelli better than a knife blade ever will. When baking pizza, specific baking sheets will help you nail the texture, and using a steel (instead of a pizza stone) delivers that professional-grade crust in your home oven. Whenever possible, I suggest easy substitutions for specialty equipment, but honestly, basic kitchen tools usually do the trick. The only thing I really insist on is a digital kitchen scale that measures in grams, crucial for precise pasta, pizza, and bread recipes. But hey, if you’re a completist (or just love kitchen shopping), check out the full tool list that follows. You can snag this stuff online (see Resources ), or better yet, pick them up at my favorite (and appropriately named) shop Kitchen on my next trip to Rome!

• 10- to 12-inch cast iron skillet, for frying

• Instant-read thermometer, for monitoring meat temperatures when roasting and oil temperatures when frying

• Paper towels, for draining fried foods

• Large Dutch oven or other large heavy-bottomed pot with a cover

• Medium and large sauté pans with covers

• Grill pan, for searing

• Roasting pan and rack

• Containers with covers for salting meat and proofing dough

• Small, medium, and large bowls, including a large stainless steel bowl

• Measuring cups and spoons

• Digital kitchen scale

• Potato ricer, for preparing gnocchi

• Chitarra , for cutting perfectly square tonnarelli

• Pasta machine or rolling pin, for making fresh pasta

• Fine-mesh strainer, for draining ricotta

• Food processor or immersion blender

• Tapù, for slicing puntarelle stalks

• Parchment paper, for lining baking sheets

• Baking steel or pizza stone, for baking bread and pizza

• Wire rack, for cooling baked goods

• Two 13 × 18-inch rimmed baking sheets, for pizza

• Stand mixer with dough hook, whisk, and flat beater attachments, for mixing some of the doughs and desserts

• Bench scraper, for shaping dough and cleaning up afterward

• 9-inch pie plate or cake pan and a 9 × 13-inch baking dish