First of all, thank you for your patience. The Pollo alla Cacciatora (Chicken Cacciatore) episode of “Katie Parla’s Roman Kitchen” on Recipe.TV premiered 2,000 years ago and yet I am only now sharing the written version. I was so occupied with writing, editing, and printing Food of the Italian Islands (support ya girl and preorder here, per favore!) and I just dropped the ball. My bad! If you haven’t seen the show you can catch the trailer for preview. Check your local listings for the full ep! Pollo alla cacciatora, “hunter’s style chicken,” is a south-central Italian staple. I grew up ..read more

Spaghetti alle vongole is my desert island dish, my death row meal, the thing I crave more than any other food INCLUDING PIZZA. Shocking but true. In spite of this fact, it didn’t make it into Food of the Italian Islands (now available for preorder!!!) because I wanted to give attention to a regional variation from Sardegna, fregula con arselle (video reel here). But I did want to share my version with you here just in case fregula isn’t available locally or you aren’t up for making it. Plus, spaghetti is the prefect pasta shape, so here goes. I make mine in bianco, with extra-virgin oli ..read more

Venice is a tough city for food–and an expensive one, too, especially if you’re accustomed to cities like Rome where you can eat very well on a budget. If you plan ahead and make bookings at restaurants well in advance, you will enjoy Venetian dining, particularly if you are OK budgeting €75 and up per person for a meal including wine. I love institutions like Alle Testiere where everything is very good, Da Ignazio for fish, and Al Covo is great for pasta, fritto misto and a very good grappa selection. Vini da Gigio is another favorite for Venetian classics and a deep wine cellar. Covino and A ..read more

For the past 6 months or so, Delta has been offering COVID-tested flights for essential travelers only between the U.S. and Italy. During this long and successful trial run, travelers who had a negative PCR test 48 hours before departure, and tested negative at the departure AND the arrival airports could enter Italy without quarantining. I took one of these flights from Atlanta to Rome in February and the efficiency was impressive. I never thought I would be so ecstatic about transatlantic travel but it was a breeze and I loved it. The COVID-tested flights were so successful that the Italian ..read more

On a sweltering day in August 2018, Dr. Danielle Callegari and I launched the Gola podcast on Italian food and how it connects to history, culture, and society. Since then, it has been a never ending joy to connect with Danielle, who is truly the smartest human, to spotlight themes, producers, and foods we love. Over the past year in particular we have been overwhelmed by the incredible outpouring of support in the form of messages and donations our listeners have sent. It’s thanks to listeners’ generosity that we are able to research, record, and drop episodes every other week. I h ..read more

If you’ve ever grown your own produce, you already know this: nature is mind blowing. Growing anything at all seems like a small miracle. For me, especially when it comes to the vast and varied (and variegated!) radicchio family. This past fall and winter, it was emotional to sow and tend the seeds, harvest the plants, then devour their bitter goodness in raw and cooked form. I want you to experience that joy, too. And you really can! My friend Lane Selman, who I first met years ago when I toured her around Rome, just launched a new radicchio seed initiative called the Gusto Italiano Project ..read more

  Most Easters I am on the road. I love visiting farms and friends in rural parts of Italy for the long holiday weekend. Since we are firmly in the “red zone” until after Easter wraps up, I’m staying put in Lazio but already dreaming of 2022 when I hope to spend Pasqua in one of my favorite places ever: Cilento, a mountainous coastal sub-region in Campania. For me, the area feels like the Amalfi Coast must have 200 years ago before Grand Tourists descended on its seaside villages, changing them forever. Cilento itself is spectacular, with its remove mountain villages and stunning towns o ..read more

  Amici! I miss traveling and eating in Italy with all of you. And so, while we’re still all online, I’m excited to announce KP’s Italian Eating Club, a virtual community hosted by DEMI where we can all connect through our shared love of all things Italian. The interactive group chat is an ongoing food/wine/booze/cooking party. In the club, we group text via What’sApp about recipes we’re making, dream travel itineraries, techniques for perfect pasta, and more. Here’s what’s cooking at the IEC: Monthly Zoom Aperitivo (a virtual happy hour dedicated to a reci ..read more

The Italian south’s resources and position as a crossroads in the Mediterranean have made it a target for conquest and transit for millennia. As invaders and refugees made their way to the south, they brought their customs, cooking methods, and ingredients with them. At times, the locals would reject the new arrivals—both the people and their food—but after time had erased wounds, these foreigners and their imports would be adopted, wonderfully coloring the native traditions of the south with their influences. One such phase that shaped the south’s cuisine in a way still appreciated today was ..read more

Last year I covered Sarah Cicolini’s Roman trattoria Santo Palato for Australian Gourmet Traveller, one of my favorite magazines to contribute toe. The article included 7 recipes that the Abruzzo-born chef serves in her adopted city, including some of the Italian capital’s classics. She says of her version of amatriciana, “There’s no one recipe; everyone has their own spin on it. Like Sora Lella, the late and legendary Roman chef, I use a touch of vinegar. This trick, along with the short cooking time for the tomato sauce, keeps it light and pleasantly acidic. I finish the dish with some cri ..read more