Want to learn about Venetian food? Looking for Venetian recipes? Read Emiko Davies’ guide and recipes below, then check out our more Italian recipes. We also have our guides to Sardinia, Trentino and Bologna.
Venetian cuisine
Venice, La Serenissima, is arguably the most beautiful and charismatic city of Italy. Its history as a maritime republic and its trade with the east have both helped to shape its culinary arsenal. In many of the seafood and other dishes, there are little touches of the exotic – the highly peppered sauce that accompanies duck and game dishes, a hint of cinnamon in risotto or gnocchi – which are rare in the rest of Italy. In Venice you should eat seafood, which is brought in fresh every day from the lagoon. Try sardines in an Arabic-influenced sweet and sour marinade; or moleche (soft-shelled crabs); or bigoli in salsa, pasta with an anchovy sauce. There are a few meat and poultry dishes worth trying, such as calf’s liver with onions, fegato alla veneziana, duck with that characteristic pepper sauce, or the famous carpaccio invented in Harry’s Bar. And do not miss the cicchetti, the Italian version of the Spanish tapas, tasty morsels to be eaten with a drink. As with tapas, you can make a meal of cicchetti by ordering multiple plates for a good and filling meal. And you don’t necessarily have to eat and drink in the same bacaro — you could make your way from bacaro to bacaro, sampling the varied tastes on offer, as well as differing wines. It is a good way of familiarising yourself with the labyrinthine side streets of the city.
Ursula Ferrigno’s Venetian recipes
Words and recipes extracted from Cucina del Veneto by Ursula Ferrigno (£22, Ryland Peters & Small).
Spicy sausage and polenta lasagne
Hearty and delicious, this lasagne, which uses polenta in place of pasta sheets, is a real crowd pleaser. Using good-quality sausages is a must – I love a fennel and red wine variety for this dish.
Broad bean purée cicchetti
Whip up this Venetian broad bean purée cicchetti for an alternative spread to hummus. It’s light and fresh, enhanced with mint and lemon zest.
Roasted pepper and tuna cicchetti
Roasted peppers, tomatoes, olives and herbs create a vibrant mix of textures, colours and flavours to awaken the tastebuds and excite the senses.
Venetian apple cake
This light Genoese sponge layered with apples is perfect with coffee for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. Try adding a little finely chopped rosemary to the mixture to elevate this delicious cake.
Emiko Davies’ Venetian recipes
Words and recipes extracted from Cinnamon & Salt by Emiko Davies (£20, Hardie Grant).
Venetian deep fried meatballs
The deep-fried meatballs at Venice’s Alla Vedova are legendary. I will never forget my first taste of them. Thanks to these, Alla Vedova is considered a culinary institution. Any Venice cookbook offers a version inspired by them, although the original is a closely guarded secret and every recipe I’ve seen is different. Personally, I think the best way to enjoy them is at Alla Vedova. But making these and enjoying them piping hot as they come out of the frying pan comes a close second.
Sweet and sour sardines
Preparing food in saor – the technique of marinating fried food in vinegar and other ingredients – was historically a favourite Venetian way of conserving food for long trips.
Carrot mostarda
Carrot mostarda is a Venetian dish for celebrating the new year. This recipe will make enough for 12 cicchetti but you can also try it out with a roast or on sandwiches.