Food guide: Venice
Italy is the country of endlessly delicious food and drink, which is why we love coming here so much. Every region, area and even city has its own local specialities and delicacies. We travel to the city of canals, carnival and romance: Venice.
The cuisine of Venice originated during the time of la Repubblica Venezia, or the Republic of Venice, between 697 and 1797, when trade routes to and from the east passed through the city. Wealthy merchants and members of the nobility settled here, bringing refined table manners and recipes with them: two important characteristics of la cucina di Venezia.
Cucina di Venezia
Venice lies on the Adriatic Sea and therefore has the highest fish and seafood consumption in all of Italy. Fishermen deliver fresh catches twice a day to the Mercato Ittico di Chioggia, the city’s largest fish market. Traders stock up on the day’s fresh fish there and sell it on at the Pescheria, a large fish market at the foot of the Rialto Bridge. This market is the place to be for your fresh fish of the day, should you want to cook for yourself.
Moeche fritte
Many Venetian specialities are based on the city’s location by the sea. Throughout the city, you can eat bigoli in salsa (pasta in anchovy sauce) and risotto al nero si seppia (risotto cooked in squid ink). In addition, moeche are extremely popular: small green crabs caught just after they have shed their shells. This is a crab found only in the Venetian lagoon, particularly around the islands of Chioggia and Burano. They are fried whole, breaded and served as an aperitif.
Tips for the perfect vinaigrette
Cicchetti
Cicchetti are small snacks often accompanied by a good glass of wine, a kind of Venetian tapas. Cicchetti is a unique phenomenon; you will never find anything quite like it elsewhere in Italy. Well-known cicchetti include sarde in saor (sardines in sweet-and-sour sauce), capesante gratinate (gratinated scallops), seppie alla veneziana (squid) and polpettine (meatballs).
Baccalà mantecato
A traditional fish dish from Venice: dried cod is soaked and cooked in milk, then mixed with olive oil, milk and parsley into a kind of thick pâté. It is actually quite strange, because the cod is caught in the Atlantic Ocean, a sea that Venice does not border. Nevertheless, it is one of the most popular dishes in the Italian city, served with white or yellow polenta.
Risi e bisi
Risi e bisi should also not be missing from your food list: risotto with fresh peas and pancetta. The dish has an almost sacred status. Legend has it that it was served to the doges of Venice on the day of San Marco (25 April), also known as Venice’s national day.
Sweet
One of the most popular desserts from Venice is fritoe, a kind of sugared, deep-fried dough balls traditionally eaten during carnival season. They may remind you of our oliebollen. Also try pinza: a pastry made with polenta and pumpkin. Baicoli are thin biscuits, served with coffee and zabaglione (a mousse made from egg yolks, sugar and Marsala) or crema al mascarpone (mascarpone with sugar, eggs and rum). Baicoli are made by the famous company Colussi and are sold throughout the country in a distinctive yellow tin.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf8FSTtlbMI/?tagged=baicoli
