Katie Parla

25/12/2024

What’s on your list of must eat pastas in Roma?

23/12/2024

There is something deeply twisted about stuffing an animal’s body with its own legs, then cooking it. But in this case, it’s also extremely delicious. Stuffed calamari are part of virtually every Italian island culture; the seasoning and components of the bread crumb mixture change slightly from place to place, but the concept is the same: the calamari bodies are stuffed, then cooked until perfectly tender. I have chosen the Bay of Naples and Pontine Islands as inspiration here, as their versions are quite similar. https://katieparla.com/recipe-calamari-ripieni-stuffed-calamari/

23/12/2024

What are you cooking on Christmas Eve? Here’s my menu!

Lean into Italian American traditions and make these seafood recipes on the December 24 Feast of the Seven Fishes.

22/12/2024

🎄✨ In my Italian American family in NJ, Christmas Eve = the legendary “Feast of Seven Fishes.” 🐟🍤 No one’s exactly sure why we eat seven kinds of seafood (biblical numerology perhaps?), but it’s tradition—and so that’s what we do! 🙃 Meanwhile, if you served only 7 fish dishes in southern Italy, people might look at you like, “That’s it?!” 😅 Down south, they go all out.

I stick to my Jersey Italian roots and hit the lucky number 7. What about you? Are you team “classic 7” or team “ALL the fish”? Let me know! And if you’re still planning your menu, check out my fave pescatarian recipes—link below. 🐙🍝🐠 Auguri! 🌟

https://katieparla.com/feast-of-seven-fishes-recipes/

Lean into Italian American traditions and make these seafood recipes on the December 24 Feast of the Seven Fishes.

20/12/2024

My freshly updated Eater 38 guide is live! Stellar gricia at a historic trattoria near the Pantheon, pizza by the slice at a popular shop near the Vatican, meaty sandwiches made from generations-old recipes in the Testaccio market, and more of Rome’s best meals.

Brothy tortellini at a friendly trattoria near the Trevi Fountain, pizza by the slice at a popular shop near the Vatican, meaty sandwiches made from generations-old recipes in the Testaccio market, and more of Rome’s best meals.

20/12/2024

My go-to order at Pantera in Garbatella (and virtually every other pizza by the slice joint in Rome): classic supplì, crostino, rossa. The crostino slice has ham and cheese; the rossa is drizzled with a parsley sauce.

18/12/2024

Casa Lawrence in Valle di Comino (1.5-2 hours south of Rome depending on who is driving!!) makes incredible cheese from sheep and goat milk. They have a few rooms as well and a small museum dedicated to D.H. Lawrence who wrote part of The Lost Girl in the house the head cheesemaker Loreto’s grandparents and mother lived in.

13/12/2024

Linguine with telline (wedge clams from the Lazio coast) are 100% guaranteed to leave you drenched in oil due to the tedious cleaning involved, but I'd wager you won't regret it. Try them (and just about everything else) at Da Michele in Rome's San Paolo district!

12/12/2024

Close out the year with Rome's finest food & drink!

Where should you eat, drink, and shop for food in Rome? Get Katie's tips for the top trattorie, gelato shops, wine bars, delis, and more!

12/12/2024

It's never too early to start planning your Feast of the Seven Fishes Christmas Eve menu! These swordfish "meatballs" make the cut every year!

Swordfish meatballs, a mixture of fish, breadcrumbs, pine nuts, and raisins, are a Sicilian classic cooked in tomato sauce.

10/12/2024

Radicchio di Treviso tardivo + radicchio rosa di Verona about to become the prettiest salad. We haven’t yet had the cold snaps in Italy that give bitter chicories their complex flavor but won’t stop them from landing on my plate!

08/12/2024

My favorite pasta shape for carbonara is undoubtedly spaghettoni but I’m not mad when a few guanciale chunks get scooped up inside half rigatoni.

07/12/2024

One of my favorite bookstores ever, Kitchen Arts & Letters, is featuring Food of the Italian Islands in their January cookbook club!! THRILLED! Join here: https://www.kitchenartsandletters.com/collections/cookbook-club-and-classes/products/cookbook-club-food-of-the-italian-islands

06/12/2024

Puntarelle, reasons 1-10,000 to visit Rome in the fall and winter. These bolted chicory shoots are stripped of their outer leaves, sliced, soaked in cold water until they curl, then served with a garlicky salted anchovy dressing 💚🐟

03/12/2024

Trattoria Monti in Rome is one of the hardest tables in town to snag. It’s a small family-run trattoria serving food and wine from Le Marche. Tonight I begged my way in at 10pm for a solo dinner of braised rabbit.

03/12/2024

Planning a trip to Rome around the holidays? Here's where to eat, drink, and shop!

Katie Parla shares her tips on where to eat and drink in Rome during the Christmas and New Years holidays. A little planning goes a long way!

29/10/2024

The quickest way to Sicily? This pistacchio cream, which is perfect on toast!

For someone who travels as much as I do, you would think I would know how to pack fine foods to avoid having them confiscated by security. That, sadly, is not the case. Each time I fly out of the Catania airport (the closest major airport to Noto, a pilgrimage destination for sweets lovers who […]