Eating - Venice and the Veneto - page 74

Venetian Cuisine
'Local food!' is the latest foodie credo, but it's nothing new in Venice. Surrounded by
garden islands and a seafood-rich lagoon, Venice offers local specialities that never make
it to the mainland, because they're served fresh the same day in Venetian bacari (hole-in-
the-wall bars) and osterie (taverns). A strong sea breeze wafts over the kitchens of the la-
goon city, with the occasional meaty dish from the Veneto mainland and traditional local
options of rice and polenta in addition to classic Italian pastas and gnocchi. But side
dishes of Veneto vegetables often steal the show, and early risers will notice Venetians
risking faceplants in canals to grab violetti di Sant'Erasmo (tender purple baby ar-
tichokes), radicchio trevisano (ruffled red bitter chicory) and prized Bassano del Grappa
white asparagus from produce-laden barges.
Venice's cosmopolitan outlook makes local cuisine anything but predictable. Cross-cul-
tural fusion fare isn't some new fad in Venice, but dates back to Marco Polo's heyday -
13th-century Venetian cookbooks include recipes for fish with galangal, saffron and
ginger. Don't be surprised if some Venetian dishes taste vaguely Turkish or Greek rather
than strictly Italian, reflecting Venice's preferred trading partners for over a millennium.
Spice-route flavours from the Mediterranean and beyond can be savoured in signature
Venetian recipes such as sarde in saor, traditionally made with sardines in a tangy onion
marinade with pine nuts and sultanas.
Exceptional ingredients from other parts of Italy sneak into Venetian cuisine, such as
Tuscan steaks, white truffles from Alba, aromatic Amalfi lemons and Sicilian pistachios
and blood oranges. Just don't ask for pesto: the garlicky basil spread hails from Genoa,
Venice's chief trade-route rival for 300 years, and some Venetians still hold culinary
grudges.
Cicheti
Even in unpretentious Venetian osterie and bacari , most dishes cost a couple of euros
more than they might elsewhere in Italy - not a bad mark-up, considering all that fresh
seafood and produce brought in by boat. But cicheti are some of the best foodie finds in
Italy, served at lunch and from around 6pm to 8pm with sensational Veneto wines by the
glass. Cicheti range from basic bar snacks (spicy meatballs, fresh tomato and basil
bruschetta) to wildly inventive small plates: think white Bassano asparagus and plump la-
goon shrimp wrapped in pancetta at All'Arco ( Click here ); fennel and octopus salad fresh
from the Pescaria at ProntoPesce ( Click here ); or crostini (open-face sandwiches) piled
with sopressa (soft local salami) with marinated radicchio at Dai Zemei ( Click here ).