Rachel Roddy’s recipe for deep-fried little fish and courgette matchsticks | A kitchen in Rome

Fill a glass with something long and cool, draw up a chair and snack on summery fried anchovies and courgettes

I often pass La Torricella at about 11am, as they are setting up for lunch. Under a long, narrow awning, there are 18 or so tables for two, which get pushed together in different ways depending on the bookings. Each table gets swamped by two tablecloths. It’s a good sound, the heavy cutlery meeting the table. Each place also gets a thick napkin and two glasses, one a bit larger than the other, but of the same tulip-shape with a short stem. I like these glasses; they are solid and reliable to hold. According to the restaurant supply website, they are called Bormioli Rocco 28.7cl or 20.7cl for a tavern or trattoria, a classic glass che non tramonta mai (that never goes out of fashion).

Like many trattorie and restaurants in Rome, and especially in Testaccio, the family that runs La Torricella has roots in the neighbouring region of Abruzzo – a reminder of the surging migration, especially when Rome became capital in 1860, and also of the Abruzzese as cooks and hosts. Unlike other places, though, which are dedicated to classic and meaty cucina Romana and the right amount of offal, La Torricella offers mostly fish. Time has made us forgiving and affectionate; we have been going to La Torricella regularly for years. The flattened polpette of salt cod or cuttlefish, spaghetti with clams, short-sleeved mezze maniche pasta with tiny flying octopus, red mullet alla Livornese and pan-fried sea bass with potatoes are all favourites. But most of all, maybe, I enjoy both the smell and the taste of fried things: tiny, bristly artichokes, small, musky octopus and anchovies.

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