Vegan options in traditional restaurants Most Roman trattorie, osterie, or ristoranti have a number of vegan options on the menu. Traditional Roman cuisine is not all pizza and pasta: while vegan antipasti (appetizers) are rare the traditional primo – pasta or pizza – and secondo (a protein course) is usually served with a number of contorni – vegetable side dishes – that are entirely plant based. No matter what you order, saying “sono vegano” (soh-noh veh-GAN-oh) will suffice, as the movement has had sufficient penetration into Roman society for most people to understand the plant-based nature of the diet; and since dishes in Rome are almost always made fresh to your order, your waitstaff will be able to instruct the chef accordingly. Primi for vegans visiting Rome If you want to order pasta, then traditional dishes such as the simple tomato sauce of pasta rossa, pasta e lenticchie (pasta with lentils) and aglio e olio (garlic and olive oil) are all naturally vegan. When ordering, do ensure from your waiter that it is made with pasta all’acqua – containing nothing but flour and water – and not pasta all’uovo which is made with egg. Where it comes to traditional pizzas you cannot go wrong with pizza rossa, a standard pizza with no cheese – though again do check with the waitstaff if the dough has been made without animal fats. Secondi for vegans in Rome Vegan secondi in traditional dishes are rare, but there are some that may be based on porcini mushrooms when they’re in season. There are also insalatoni (big salads designed to be eaten as a meal in itself), both usually served with bread that is made with no animal product.s. Contorni for vegans in Rome However contorni (side dishes) are plentiful. Highlights include radicchio, the delightful ciccoria (not chicory, this is a slightly bitter leaf that resembles spinach), and the deliciously filling carciofo alla romana (Roman artichoke – cooked in olive oil with herbs) or the traditional Jewish carciofo alla giudea, which is an artichoke flower deep-fried in olive oil. Not to mention a large numbers of salads. Eating dessert when you’re a vegan in Rome Desserts are a taller order, but despite the ubiquity of tiramisù and pannacotta, every restaurant will serve macedonia (fruit salad) and most ice cream shops do fruit-based sorbets – if not even vegan versions of Rome’s famous gelato – which has started making an appearance in select gelaterie around the city such as the fabulous Fatamorgana chain.