Rome, Lazio — the Testaccio slaughterhouse district. Pajata is specific to Roman cuisine and the quinto quarto tradition. Its temporary ban from 1996-2015 made it a marker of Roman culinary identity and its reinstatement was celebrated in the city.
Pajata is one of the most characterful dishes of the Roman quinto quarto tradition: the small intestine of unweanèd veal calves, which still contains the mother's milk when the animal is slaughtered. The milk chymus inside the intestine coagulates during cooking — it was banned in the EU from 1996-2015 due to BSE (mad cow disease) regulations but reinstated with renewed controls. The intestine is cleaned (not emptied — the contents are the point), sectioned, tied into rings, and braised with tomato or cooked with rigatoni. The coagulated milk inside has a rich, cheese-like flavour.
The coagulated milk inside the intestine has a flavour somewhere between fresh ricotta and fontina — rich, slightly acidic, with the clean sweetness of calf's milk. Combined with the tomato-and-guanciale braise and the Pecorino-dressed rigatoni, it is extraordinarily complex for a dish of slaughterhouse origins.
Pajata is a product of very young veal — the intestine must still contain the undigested milk chymus. It is available from specialist Roman butchers (macellerie romane). The intestine is cleaned and cut into 15cm sections, the ends tied with kitchen twine to seal the contents inside. Braise in tomato with white wine and guanciale — the braise is the same base as amatriciana. The intestine becomes tender in 1.5-2 hours and the chymus inside sets to a cheese-like consistency. Toss with rigatoni and grated Pecorino.
Ask the butcher to prepare the pajata correctly — in Rome, specialist macellerie handle this. Outside Italy, sourcing authentic pajata is extremely difficult and this is a dish best eaten in Rome. The chymus inside, when the intestine is cut at the table, is pulled into threads — this is the characteristic texture.
Attempting to empty the intestine — the contents are the defining flavour element. Overcooking — the intestine becomes rubbery if pushed past tenderness. Not tying the ends securely — the chymus leaks into the sauce and becomes grainy. Using mature beef intestine — the flavour is completely different; unweanèd veal is essential.
Giuliano Bugialli, Foods of Rome and Lazio; Elizabeth David, Italian Food