Notes about Recipes in this book

• Rice croquettes filled with meat sauce and mozzarella (Arancine al ragù)

  • rmardel on January 13, 2025

    This recipe didn't work for me. They were not bad. The risotto was fine, the flavor was fine, but the resulting arancini were huge, bigger than I could successfully hold in my hand to shape. I followed the recipe, divided the amount of rice into 12 equal portions, shaped the arancini although I couldn't really hold that much rice in my hand, much less easily shape it around the filling. Each arancini was meal sized, the size of a tennis ball. In this case I do not feel that bigger is better.

• Venetian spritz

  • RightHemisphere on April 29, 2026

    A summer staple!

• Chickpea fritters (Panelle)

  • rmardel on January 23, 2025

    These were very good and quite easy although you do have to pay attention while the chickpea batter is cooking. Then it is easy enough to let everything cool until later in the day or the next day even. The resulting panelle are just as they should be -- crispy and crunchy on the outside and light creamy and pillowy on the inside. I didn't put mine in a roll but they were great with drinks.

• Poached spleen and lung sandwich (Pane câ meusa)

  • rmardel on December 28, 2025

    I made this, without the lung which I cannot procure in the United States and it was excellent. I was impressed with the complexity of the flavors. It is not something I am likely to make again given the difficulty in procuring spleen in my area, but I wanted to try it, and it is unlikely that I will ever taste the original even should I travel to Sicily given my gluten-free status as a sufferer of Celiac disease.

• Caramelized onion-filled puff pastry (Cipolline Catanesi)

  • passatellikelly on April 07, 2023

    Easy to make, beautiful, and delicious

  • Stephenn31 on January 01, 2024

    These were delicious and I didn’t even put in the full amount of mozzarella (though I wish I had!). Keep an eye on the onions as they will brown quickly, but that didn’t seem to impact flavour or appearance

• Pistachio pasta (Pesto di pistacchi)

  • Stephenn31 on October 24, 2023

    It took a while to work the pesto together, but the taste was balanced. The mint wasn't overpowering as I had expected.

• Ricotta and mint ravioli with tomato sauce (Ravioli panteschi al sugo povero)

  • Tinala523 on March 20, 2023

    I made only the sugo, to go with the culurgiones. Very simple and light.

• Thumbprint pasta with tiny meatballs and pecorino (Maccarrones de poddighe con polpettine e pecorino)

  • Stephenn31 on November 04, 2024

    Took a while to roll all the small meatballs but it was delicious. Served with orichette pasta instead of spaghetti

• Sardinian potato and cheese dumplings with butter, sage, and candied orange peel (Culurgiones con burro e salvia)

  • Tinala523 on March 18, 2023

    Delicious and so simple. Did not overpower the culurgiones. (Did not use the orange peel)

• Bean and chard soup (Minestra Ventotenese)

  • JesseMBadger on June 18, 2023

    Really good. Make sure to season more heavily earlier on. Also, cut the chard stems very thin and use them with the celery and carrots.

• Sardine rolls (Sarde a beccafico)

  • rmardel on February 09, 2025

    These are excellent. The fruitiness offsets the richness of the cheese and sardines nicely. Not something I am likely to make often as I have trouble getting fresh sardines here, but worth remembering for when the opportunity arises.

  • RightHemisphere on April 29, 2026

    A bit time consuming if you’re doing the descaling and filleting yourself, but it also means you get a lot of practice. Well worth the effort, this was eaten alongside the Venetian Spritz, on a beautiful summer evening. Super fun presentation.

• Almond-crusted mahi-mahi (Lampuga panata)

  • nicolepellegrini on May 12, 2025

    This was...fine. Nothing memorable or particularly exciting that I'd rush to make again.

• Swordfish rolls (Polpette di pesce spada)

  • rmardel on January 10, 2025

    These are delicious and very easy to pull together. I used pecorino Romano rather than caciocavallo as that is what is available locally, and I dusted the tops of the meatballs with additional cheese. Appearance-wise they could be any meatballs, but the flavor is light and delicious, and not strongly "fishy". Would make again.

• Braised rabbit in the style of Ischia (Coniglio all'Ischitana)

  • rmardel on January 23, 2025

    Excellent! The dish is say to pull together as long as you remember to marinate the rabbit the night before. Otherwise the prep is minimal and you get great flavor for minimal effort and some time in a low oven. The acidity of the dish really makes the meat and the sauce shine.

• Meatloaf (Polpettone)

  • DFarnham on November 10, 2023

    This was very different. I think you can easily 1/2 the green beans--1# was way to much. I also could not find ground veal so had to sub ground beef. Subsequently I felt like it needed a little more time in the oven. Also felt like 1/2 a loaf of bread was a bit broad; I used 200 grams of torn bread. Overall we enjoyed the meal, but my husband felt like it needed a marinara sauce on top.

• Sweet-and-sour eggplant with celery, capers, and olives (Caponata)

  • DFarnham on November 10, 2023

    Having just spent a month in Sicily, I was obsessed to find a good caponata recipe. I will say Katie's recipe is excellent! Make sure you serve with lots of crusty bread. I added just a tiny bit more olive oil, because there is nothing better to dip bread in! Also, after the initial cook, I felt everything was a little firm so i threw it back on the stove on a low heat until things softened to my liking. Makes a ton. I like to rewarm before serving. Definite repeat.

  • Sophiebrand on March 29, 2026

    Convoluted and I know this is supposed to be an oily condiment but tooooo much oil

• Raw artichoke and sliced bottarga salad (Insalata di carciofi e bottarga)

  • RightHemisphere on April 29, 2026

    I enjoyed trying artichokes raw (I didn’t know you could eat them this way!) but ultimately not my favorite preparation

• Eggplant Parmigiana (Parmigiana di melanzane)

  • DFarnham on January 31, 2024

    Excellent! It astounds me that such simple ingredients can yield such a fantastic dish! I used more olive (higher quality) than noted frying the eggplant, but the meal was in no way greasy, just high on flavor. I wasn't able to find the Italian cheeses referenced and I ran out of time to hunt them down, so went with fresh mozzarella and parmesan. Don't be afraid of using sea salt--the dish came out perfectly--not too salty. This is hands-down a repeat recipe. As I was unsure if one of diners would like this, I prepared a chicken piccata as well which was excellent, but if you're inclined to do the same, I would go with a chicken saltimbocca, greek chicken of lamb. This dish in of itself is meant as a meal, but some folks at our table needed a bit more protein.

• Pantelleria-style salad (Insalata pantesca)

  • lean1 on October 31, 2025

    I liked this salad but it was very salty. I omitted the olives too.

• Broccoli with pine nuts and raisins (Broccoli con pinoli e uvetta)

  • Stephenn31 on July 14, 2024

    I used barberries instead of raisins, because I didn't want it too sweet. Do not overcook the broccoli in the first quick blanche, because there is enough cooking time at the end with the garlic and pine nuts.

• Caper dirty martini (Martini sporco al cappero)

  • rmardel on January 23, 2025

    I made this with gin and it was excellent. I never thought that I liked dirty martinis, and I don't when they are made with olive brine. But I love capers, and the martini with the caper brine is fabulous. Caper brine will never go to waste in my house again.

• Artichoke liqueur (Liquore al carciofo)

  • RightHemisphere on April 29, 2026

    Very interesting! Not sure what to do with it other than sip it straight though.

• Sardinian-style potato and pecorino pasta parcels (Culurgiones)

  • Tinala523 on March 18, 2023

    Katie included a zoom class on these if you purchased her book and they are tricky to make. Filling was tasty because of all that cheese. Butter sage sauce was a lovely compliment.