“Tasting Rome” by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill is a combination cookbook and travelogue. The beautiful photographs, wonderful recipes, and interesting texts will make you want to buy a ticket to visit Rome. If you cannot go to Rome, enjoy the delights of this cookbook. “Tasting Rome” is so much more than a cookbook.
This book combines both traditional and contemporary recipes with interesting stories and facts about Rome. They include recipes for classic dishes like Cacio e Pepe, Pollo alla Romana, and gnocchi di patate di arcangelo dandini. The authors worked alongside some of the city’s great chefs to develop recipes deeply rooted in Roman culture.
The photographs accompanying the recipes are beautiful, but, I personally enjoyed the photographs of the Roman landscape, people and restaurants. It is an immersion for the sights and taste of that beautiful, historic city.
In the “How to Use This Book” section the authors explain the use of “q.b.”, which is used throughout the book. Quanto Basta means, “as much as you need.” In the Roman tradition they do not get bogged down with precise measures or proportions. They provide guidelines that you adjust to your personal preference, “q.b”. This reminds me of my Italian grandmother’s recipes, they did not have exact measurements and I finally know the term for that!
“Tasting Rome” has recipes for pizza, salads, chicken, pastas, and deserts. But, it also uses some ingredients that are more native to Rome. For example, lingua in salsa verde (beef tongue in salsa verde), coda alla vaccinara (braised oxtail), and fegatelli di maiale (grilled pig’s liver).
Get a copy of this unique cookbook. Plan a Roman meal and dream about your visit there!
I receive this book from Blogging for Books in order to write this review.