This is also a cuisine that ranges from the sea to the mountains and therefore its typical recipes also vary depending on location. One drink that all the cities in this region have in common is the spritz, the aperitif that is well known throughout Italy but also the world.
In Veneto, therefore, it is unthinkable to start an important meal without this drink. The typical Veneto appetiser is sarde in saor, a typical dish from the Venetian lagoon. For first courses how could we not mention pasta and beans, risi e bisi and polenta with salt cod, which can be considered both a first course and a main course.
For main courses, the famous Vicenza-style salt cod and the equally famous Venetian-style liver. Desserts include the mouth-watering tiramisù and the pinza, a cake traditionally made on Epiphany.
The spritz
This is the name of the aperitif popular throughout the Veneto region, but not only. Each province in Veneto has its own differences, as regards the wine to be put in, either bitter or even aperol. In my opinion, the Venetian spritz is the most original even if other provinces claim originality.
Ingredients for the Venetian spritz
7 centilitres of white wine
4 centilitres of bitter
a splash of sparkling water or seltzer
a slice of orange
Preparation of the Venetian spritz
In a goblet in which you have put ice, put the white wine, bitter, sparkling water and mix everything together. Garnish with a slice of orange.
Sarde in saor
Sarde in saor is a typical Venetian recipe consisting of sardines accompanied by caramelised sweet and sour onions. which are normally served as an appetiser
Needed to prepare sarde in saor
grams 500 of already cleaned sardines
grams 500 of white onions
grams 50 of pine nuts
grams 50 of sultanas
1 glass of white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
flour, salt, olive oil and peanut oil for frying as required
Preparation of sarde in saor for 4 - 6 persons
First wash and clean the sardines by removing the head and the bone. Open and lightly flour the sardines. Fry them in plenty of peanut oil and remove the excess oil by wiping them with paper towels.
Now let's move on to the preparation of the onions. Cut the onions into thin slices and fry in olive oil for about twenty minutes until golden brown. Stir often and add a little water if the mixture tends to dry out too much. After this time, add the sugar and the glass of white wine vinegar and cook for another ten minutes or so.
Now place in a bowl a layer of fried sardines, on top a layer of caramelised onions and on top a few more pieces of sultanas and pine nuts. Start again by placing the fried sardines and continue making layers until the ingredients are finished. Once ready, the sarde in saor should be left to rest in a cool place, but not in the fridge, for 16 to 24 hours.
Pasta e fagioli alla veneta
A purely winter first course that adds a touch of warmth to a cold day.
Ingredients for pasta e fagioli alla veneta
400 grams of cooked borlotti beans
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery rib
grams 150 of tomato puree
a sprig of rosemary
2 bay leaves
salt, pepper and olive oil to taste
grams 400 of short pasta
Preparation of pasta and beans Veneto style
Cut the onion, carrot and celery and chop them finely. Fry the chopped vegetables in a frying pan with a few tablespoons of oil until golden brown.
Add the beans and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomato puree, a sprinkling of black pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Now cover everything with water, add the rosemary sprig and the bay leaf, adjust the salt, put a lid on and simmer for about 3 hours.
Once the heat is off, remove the rosemary sprig, the bay leaves and a third of the beans. Then with an immersion blender, blend everything, passing the mixture through a sieve to remove the bean skins completely. The end result is a soft and fairly liquid cream.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted water. Once drained, add it to the bean cream, together with the whole beans you have set aside. Sprinkle with pepper, parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil before serving at the table.
Risi e bisi
Another typical Veneto first course that was usually prepared in spring when peas are at their best.
Ingredients for preparing risi e bisi
grams 400 of vialone nano rice
1 kg fresh peas
1 onion
grams 80 of chopped bacon
grams 50 of butter
about a litre of vegetable stock
salt, pepper, grated Parmesan cheese, olive oil and parsley to taste.
Preparation of risi e bisi
First prepare a vegetable stock with a carrot, a celery rib and an onion by cooking in plenty of salted water. Remove the peas from the pods, setting them aside. Put about half of them to cook in the vegetable stock for about an hour.
When cooked, use an immersion blender to blend the pods in the vegetable stock. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove all the fibres from the pods.
In a saucepan with half the butter, cook the finely chopped onion and when it is golden brown add the bacon in small pieces and a teaspoon of chopped parsley. Cook for a few minutes to amalgamate the flavours and add the peas with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
Add the stock obtained from the pods, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Now add the rice and cook until cooked through, adding a little water if it dries out too much.
Once cooked, add the other half of the butter, a sprinkling of grated grana cheese, pepper and salt if necessary. Serve very hot.
Vicenza-style salt cod
Needed for baccalà alla vicentina
500 g pre-soaked salt cod (can also be found frozen)
grams 100 of onion
2 salted sardines
grams 30 of parmesan cheese
grams 250 of whole milk
grams 350 of olive oil
flour, salt pepper and parsley to taste
Preparation of the Vicenza-style salt cod
In a large pan fry the onion very finely chopped in olive oil, add the washed and chopped salted sardines and leave to cook for about 50 minutes on a very low heat until the sardines have melted. When the sauté is ready, turn off the heat and add a teaspoon of chopped parsley.
In the meantime, prepare the salt cod, which must already be soaked, the skin and any bones removed and cut into pieces. Wet each piece of codfish with the fried onion and sardines we have prepared and dip it in the flour.
Place a few tablespoons of the fried mixture in an oven dish and lay the pieces of cod next to each other on top. Also add the milk, the grated parmesan cheese the oil left over from the frying and the fried fish itself.Cook over a very low heat for about 4 hours covered. Tradition dictates that baccalà alla vicentina should never be turned.
It is delicious even 12 to 24 hours after it has been cooked and is usually accompanied by slices of polenta.
Venetian style liver
A typical second course of the Venetian tradition.
Ingredients for the Venetian style liver
400 grams of sliced pork liver (calf's liver can also be used)
2 white onions
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
grams 30 of butter
2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt pepper and chopped parsley to taste.
Preparation of the Venetian style liver
In a large frying pan, sauté the two thinly sliced onions in butter and oil. Add a tablespoon of chopped parsley and cook the onions until very soft, adding a few tablespoons of water if necessary.
The cooking time should be 20-25 minutes on a very low heat. Now put the liver slices in with the onions, add 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and cook the liver about 5 minutes, turning it halfway through cooking. Season with salt and pepper when cooked, turning the liver together with the onions to give it more flavour. Serve hot as soon as it is cooked.
Tiramisu
Let's now move on to a couple of typical Veneto desserts. The most famous I think is tiramisu, which is made all over Italy but originates in the Veneto region.
Needed for the tiramisu
250 grams of savoiardi biscuits
5 egg yolks
grams 200 of sugar
grams 250 of mascarpone
2 cups of coffee
enough bitter cocoa
Preparation of the tiramisu
First prepare the coffee and allow it to cool.
In a bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar. When frothy, add the mascarpone and mix until smooth. Wet half of the ladyfingers with coffee and place them on a serving plate. Spread half of the mascarpone cream on the ladyfingers and overlap the other coffee-soaked ladyfingers again. Place the rest of the cream on the ladyfingers and dust the surface of the cake with cocoa powder. Place in the refrigerator until serving time.
Venetian pinza
This is one of the oldest traditional Venetian desserts. It was baked for Epiphany.
Needed for the Venetian pinza
grams 400 of corn flour
grams 150 of flour type 00
1 egg
half a litre of milk
1 sachet of baking powder
50 g butter (at room temperature)
100 g sugar
50 g sultanas
5 dried figs
salt to taste
Preparation of the Venetian pinza
Soak the sultanas for at least half an hour and cut the dried figs into pieces. Mix the two flours and the sachet of baking powder in a bowl. Add the beaten egg, melted butter and slowly add the milk while continuing to knead.
Finally, add the squeezed sultanas and the pieces of dried figs. Put the mixture into a rectangular cake tin measuring about 25 by 30 and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.
