Franco's favourite ... Venetian food & restaurants
Mar 10th, 2010, 12:22 PM
#181
hi franco,
getting the duck should be no problem here, but the artichokes i think I'd have to grow myself.
so it'll probably take two or three years before I'm in a position to make this delightful sounding dish.
thanks for posting it though!
getting the duck should be no problem here, but the artichokes i think I'd have to grow myself.
so it'll probably take two or three years before I'm in a position to make this delightful sounding dish.
thanks for posting it though!
Jun 12th, 2010, 08:55 AM
#184
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<b>UPDATE - SUMMARY
Attention! Almost no new information on this post, mostly summarizing older updates!</b>
Today, I've been asked to provide an update to this thread. Well, regular readers know that all updates are hidden in the postings above this one, but for new readers, this may be less than enjoyable, so let's summarize what has been updated by and by since 2006:
- Osteria alla Botte is slightly more upscale in the meantime; they're no longer operating the "standing room" bar near the entrance, it's now dining-only. The food is better than ever, the prices are still low (for Venice - perhaps not what you'd call low prices anywhere else in Italy, that is).
- Do Spade is open again, but with different owners. It's always empty, and after reading bad reviews, I don't feel like giving them a try.
- At <b>Villa Condulmer</b>, that's the only new information on this post, the ownership has changed, everything has been renovated; the new chef has been working with the old one in the old restaurant, so the food should be pretty similar to what it was; I've heard it's even better now. I still have to return to try it.
- Due Mori doesn't exist anymore.
- Maria Boscolo has changed owner, but not the staff and recipes, so this place is as good as ever (actually, perhaps even a teeny bit better)
As for every other recommendation from the first post, and as for everything else I recommended later on (please check, there are quite a few hidden between the recipes!), I'm not aware of any changes, and in most cases, I know for sure that nothing has changed.
To sum the summary up, the very best restaurant serving typical Veneto inland fare is Al Bacaro in Noventa di Piave IMO (see post of January 9th, 2008); the best for seafood is Al Cason in Mestre (see the initial post).
Attention! Almost no new information on this post, mostly summarizing older updates!</b>
Today, I've been asked to provide an update to this thread. Well, regular readers know that all updates are hidden in the postings above this one, but for new readers, this may be less than enjoyable, so let's summarize what has been updated by and by since 2006:
- Osteria alla Botte is slightly more upscale in the meantime; they're no longer operating the "standing room" bar near the entrance, it's now dining-only. The food is better than ever, the prices are still low (for Venice - perhaps not what you'd call low prices anywhere else in Italy, that is).
- Do Spade is open again, but with different owners. It's always empty, and after reading bad reviews, I don't feel like giving them a try.
- At <b>Villa Condulmer</b>, that's the only new information on this post, the ownership has changed, everything has been renovated; the new chef has been working with the old one in the old restaurant, so the food should be pretty similar to what it was; I've heard it's even better now. I still have to return to try it.
- Due Mori doesn't exist anymore.
- Maria Boscolo has changed owner, but not the staff and recipes, so this place is as good as ever (actually, perhaps even a teeny bit better)
As for every other recommendation from the first post, and as for everything else I recommended later on (please check, there are quite a few hidden between the recipes!), I'm not aware of any changes, and in most cases, I know for sure that nothing has changed.
To sum the summary up, the very best restaurant serving typical Veneto inland fare is Al Bacaro in Noventa di Piave IMO (see post of January 9th, 2008); the best for seafood is Al Cason in Mestre (see the initial post).
Aug 16th, 2010, 12:17 PM
#190
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Ciao, Franco!
I have just read very good things about this restaurant and wonder if you have been, or have heard of it:
http://www.trattorialaguna.it/HomeE.htm
I have just read very good things about this restaurant and wonder if you have been, or have heard of it:
http://www.trattorialaguna.it/HomeE.htm
Sep 2nd, 2010, 10:49 AM
#194
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ek, you name it - we play it. Here's my late-breaking review of Trattoria Laguna: that restaurant is certainly good; it's specializing in fish, and specifically in oven-baked rombo (turbot), which was excellent on a recent evening. I forgot to ask, but I'm absolutely convinced it was rombo chiodato (the most precious - and expensive - variety), and for a reasonable price; the helping, however, was accordingly pathetic. Antipasto and primo were good, not extraordinary; but the desserts (all home-made, and a vast selection!) were - and that's rare in Italy - the best thing they offered: really excellent. All in all, I would equal Trattoria Laguna with Vini da Gigio (in Venice center) - good food and service, pretty but not too posh setting, not cheap but not excessively expensive either; a seafood version of Vini da Gigio, so to speak.
Mar 11th, 2011, 01:02 PM
#195
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On special request by roamer (on another thread): recipes for April!
First of all, April is of course artichoke season (cf. recipes above), asparagus season (cf. above), and there could still be some fine moeche (cf. above, once more), whose main season is right now, in March.
And here comes the recipe I promised on that other thread: <b>seppie e piselli</b>, cuttlefish with fresh peas, a dish from the Marche region. Cut a kilo of cleaned seppie (without the ink, that is) in chunks; they go into the pot with minced onion (quantity to your taste), half a glass of best olive oil (the quality of the oil is crucial here) and a pinch of hot pepper. After 15 minutes, add half a glass of dry white wine; after another 15 minutes, the peas (one kilo of peapods that you've podded meanwhile). Heat for another 20 minutes, season with salt and pepper.
That's a signature spring dish, and I love it - IF prepared with calamari instead of seppie, however. For me, seppie are too tart for the delicate young peas; but of course, seppie is what the original recipe says. However, I always take the liberty of using cleaned (!) calamari - cleaned, that means to remove not just the entrails (with the ink bag), but also and equally important the thin transparent rosy outer skin.
Another ingredient that we didn't talk about so far, and whose season is April, is fave (fava beans). Just in case you or anybody doesn't know them, they're no closer relatives of beans than lentils or peas are - actually a different legume. Here: http://www.gingerandtomato.com/ricet...ve-e-pancetta/ is a nice picture. You don't just have to pod them like other legumes, but except for really tiny specimens, you also have to remove the outer skin of every bean (it's easy, though). Here are two fava recipes:
<b>Marò</b>, from Liguria; you can eat it either as a spread or as a pasta sauce (I prefer it on bread). The difficulty is to determine the quantity of the fava beans... it's really so different how much the pods add to the total weight. The original recipe says it's for 560 grams of fave (with the pods), but that would only work if the beans inside the pods are really really large (and thus heavier than the pods). As a rule, I'd say you need to buy twice as much - 1.2 kilos, sometimes (if the beans are very small) even more. Pod them as described above. Add 2 tablespoon of grated pecorino (not too salty!), 85 milliliters of best olive oil, 6 fresh mint leaves, 1.5 table spoons of lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper. Put everything in the food blender and blend. Finally, stir in (by hand, not in the food blender!) half a teaspoon of finely minced garlic. (Yes, this is an uncooked preparation, that's why you can never make it with dried fava beans.)
Next, I dare giving you a recipe that is not at all traditional (it's my own creation), but it's such a nice spring dish... and with artichokes, too, hence perfect for Venice: <b>ravioli with fava beans and artichokes</b>, with a durum wheat flour & egg pasta dough. Clean fave (you don't need many, just one or two handful of beans). Chop pancetta, fry in a little olive oil until crispy, add some minced garlic and immediately afterwards the fava beans, brown them, add salt and pepper and a generous amount of lemon juice, let simmer until done. This is your ravioli stuffing (let cool before making the ravioli!). The sauce is more or less the same as in the artichoke pasta here above (post of June 7th, 2006 - hey, it's quite a time since this thread has been on!), but with less lemon juice and less bechamel sauce, but in that bechamel sauce, this time, goes a dash of white wine. And I don't stir the butter into the artichoke mash before blending it with the bechamel sauce, but brown it separately and pour it on top of the ravioli and the sauce.
First of all, April is of course artichoke season (cf. recipes above), asparagus season (cf. above), and there could still be some fine moeche (cf. above, once more), whose main season is right now, in March.
And here comes the recipe I promised on that other thread: <b>seppie e piselli</b>, cuttlefish with fresh peas, a dish from the Marche region. Cut a kilo of cleaned seppie (without the ink, that is) in chunks; they go into the pot with minced onion (quantity to your taste), half a glass of best olive oil (the quality of the oil is crucial here) and a pinch of hot pepper. After 15 minutes, add half a glass of dry white wine; after another 15 minutes, the peas (one kilo of peapods that you've podded meanwhile). Heat for another 20 minutes, season with salt and pepper.
That's a signature spring dish, and I love it - IF prepared with calamari instead of seppie, however. For me, seppie are too tart for the delicate young peas; but of course, seppie is what the original recipe says. However, I always take the liberty of using cleaned (!) calamari - cleaned, that means to remove not just the entrails (with the ink bag), but also and equally important the thin transparent rosy outer skin.
Another ingredient that we didn't talk about so far, and whose season is April, is fave (fava beans). Just in case you or anybody doesn't know them, they're no closer relatives of beans than lentils or peas are - actually a different legume. Here: http://www.gingerandtomato.com/ricet...ve-e-pancetta/ is a nice picture. You don't just have to pod them like other legumes, but except for really tiny specimens, you also have to remove the outer skin of every bean (it's easy, though). Here are two fava recipes:
<b>Marò</b>, from Liguria; you can eat it either as a spread or as a pasta sauce (I prefer it on bread). The difficulty is to determine the quantity of the fava beans... it's really so different how much the pods add to the total weight. The original recipe says it's for 560 grams of fave (with the pods), but that would only work if the beans inside the pods are really really large (and thus heavier than the pods). As a rule, I'd say you need to buy twice as much - 1.2 kilos, sometimes (if the beans are very small) even more. Pod them as described above. Add 2 tablespoon of grated pecorino (not too salty!), 85 milliliters of best olive oil, 6 fresh mint leaves, 1.5 table spoons of lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper. Put everything in the food blender and blend. Finally, stir in (by hand, not in the food blender!) half a teaspoon of finely minced garlic. (Yes, this is an uncooked preparation, that's why you can never make it with dried fava beans.)
Next, I dare giving you a recipe that is not at all traditional (it's my own creation), but it's such a nice spring dish... and with artichokes, too, hence perfect for Venice: <b>ravioli with fava beans and artichokes</b>, with a durum wheat flour & egg pasta dough. Clean fave (you don't need many, just one or two handful of beans). Chop pancetta, fry in a little olive oil until crispy, add some minced garlic and immediately afterwards the fava beans, brown them, add salt and pepper and a generous amount of lemon juice, let simmer until done. This is your ravioli stuffing (let cool before making the ravioli!). The sauce is more or less the same as in the artichoke pasta here above (post of June 7th, 2006 - hey, it's quite a time since this thread has been on!), but with less lemon juice and less bechamel sauce, but in that bechamel sauce, this time, goes a dash of white wine. And I don't stir the butter into the artichoke mash before blending it with the bechamel sauce, but brown it separately and pour it on top of the ravioli and the sauce.
Mar 11th, 2011, 02:16 PM
#196
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franco, thank you so much! I've been checking the thread - hoping you were OK but busy. I will certainly try the seppi e piselli, but with calamari. I didn't know that you were supposed to remove the outer skin.
I've seen recipes for fava beans, but they are not available where I live. I will look forward to both of these preparations. Venice in 21 days - can't wait!
I've seen recipes for fava beans, but they are not available where I live. I will look forward to both of these preparations. Venice in 21 days - can't wait!
Mar 11th, 2011, 04:24 PM
#197
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I hope the artichokes will still be around when we are in Venice, May 24-28th. I have taken note of all the delicious recipes on this thread, and look forward to cooking while there. Thanks Franco.
Mar 11th, 2011, 08:13 PM
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If it's permissible to wander afield for spring recipes, here's one from Lazio that combines artichokes, fave *and* peas. It's called vignarola, and it's served as a first or second course.
In a large, broad saucepan, cook 3 scallions (green onions) and 40 g of diced pancetta (optional) in 2 tbsp olive oil until transparent Add a small head of Romaine lettuce, cut in narrow strips, and 4 (6 of the smaller Venetian variety) artichokes, cleaned and cut in small wedges. Mix well and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat until tender, progressively adding 300 g of shelled fave, 300 g of shelled peas and, if necessary, a little water. Generally served tepid with an optional dollop of very good olive oil.
In a large, broad saucepan, cook 3 scallions (green onions) and 40 g of diced pancetta (optional) in 2 tbsp olive oil until transparent Add a small head of Romaine lettuce, cut in narrow strips, and 4 (6 of the smaller Venetian variety) artichokes, cleaned and cut in small wedges. Mix well and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat until tender, progressively adding 300 g of shelled fave, 300 g of shelled peas and, if necessary, a little water. Generally served tepid with an optional dollop of very good olive oil.
Mar 11th, 2011, 08:19 PM
#200
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franco, I leave for Italy in two weeks. Will be there from March 26th - April 4th.
What should I look for in fresh veggies at this time of year in Venice? In Rome? I love artichokes and asparagus, but I don't know if we'll be too early or too late for either. I plan on hitting the Rialto market first day there. And the market at Campo de Fiori first day in Rome.
Grazie!!!
What should I look for in fresh veggies at this time of year in Venice? In Rome? I love artichokes and asparagus, but I don't know if we'll be too early or too late for either. I plan on hitting the Rialto market first day there. And the market at Campo de Fiori first day in Rome.
Grazie!!!
