Katie Parla - Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors and Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City: A Cookbook

It wasnt long after my arrival in Borgo Capanne, a village between Bologna and Florence, that the nuances of regional cuisines came into sharp focus. It was 1989 and I had come to work in a tiny little restaurant that had twenty-four seats. Of course, before I even landed I knew that each of Italys regions, cities, and villages celebrated and dutifully reproduced their unique cuisines, but it wasnt until I had fully immersed myself in that kitchen that I discovered how cooks could be totally devoted to the same local flavors and ingredients and yet make them all their own.

Traditional recipes dont just change from region to region; they also vary from cook to cook. The basic components of a dish like tagliatelle al rag may be sacred, but their proportions and handling are at the discretion of individual cooks, who infuse their dishes with personal flair. By the time my three years in central Italy had passed, I had tasted hundreds of tagliatelle al rag dishes, each one built from similar elements, but slightly differenteach dish a mirror of its maker. The same with lasagna al forno , the same with tortellini in brodo , the same with cotoletta alla bolognese .

Down in Rome, this revelation is reinforced with each plate of carbonara, cacio e pepe , and coda alla vaccinara , and I am constantly curious about how a cook arrives at his or her personal recipe. Why does one use pancetta instead of guanciale in carbonara or introduce Parmigiano Reggiano into the cacio mix? What drives half of Romes chefs to use cocoa powder in their coda and others to leave it out? Tasting Rome answers these questions. Katie Parla, my dear friend and expert on all things Romeparticularly food, wine, and beerhas distilled the local culture as only the most informed and devoted observer could and shows how traditions are ever evolving. And while the book contains many of the recipes you might expect to find in a Roman tome, Katie and Kristina deliver them with new techniques and insider knowledge, thanks in part to the generous collaboration of the citys chefs and bakers. Rome jumps off the page thanks to Kristina Gills insightful images. This book is indispensable for both the casual reader and the imminent traveler, and even just for the interested culinarian reading out of love.

MARIO BATALI