Page 19 - foodservice magazine September 2019

TRADE TALK
19
DA ROSARIA’S PORCHETTA ROLL – CANBERRA
By Anthony Huckstep
The best sandwich in the nation’s capital? It’s a no brainer. A mere mention of suckling pig on a sandwich and people will form queues faster than a buttered bullet. In Canberra there are plenty of good sandwiches, but there’s only one you need to worry about.
Da Rosaria’s wood-roasted suckling pig porchetta ‘alla Romana’, with shaved fennel, green apple and mostarda served on wood- baked focaccia made in house every morning. Case dismissed.
“It’s based on the traditional Roman dish where most of the trattorias have the big porchettas out on chopping boards, and as you know they’re a bit more relaxed
with their health and safety in Italy than we are, so they carve them to order in front of you on the street. It’s wonderful,” says owner Pasquale Trimboli, who also owns Italian & Sons, Bacaro wine bar and Mezzalira.
“Fresh fennel and pork is a classic combination of the Romans’, the combination is almost like a romantic notion – if you have the right memory bank.
“There’s a reason for that, it is a perfect marriage,” he says.
Da Rosaria, the hole-in-the-wall Italian offering under the wing of CBD fine diner Mezzalira, has had the sandwich on from day one, over four years ago. Trimboli concedes
there would be public outrage if they took it off the menu.
The fresh fennel and porchetta is one thing, but combined with walnut pesto, garlic, rosemary and mustard fruits, it’s one of the most rich, yet balanced sandwiches down under.
“The mustard fruits lend themselves to cut through the savoury notes of garlic and rosemary and the fennel cuts through the rich, fat of the pork.
“People think the pork is the hero of the dish, and I guess it is, but the mustard fruits have an incredible way of enhancing that beautiful pork flavor,” says Trimboli.
Pork, fennel and friends; what more do you need?