DINING WITH DOGES & DIGNITARIES

Menu & Recipes

 APPETIZERS ~ ANTIPASTI

  • Creamed Codfish ~ Baccalá Mantecato

  • Sole in Sweet/Sour Sauce ~ Sfogi in Saor

FIRST COURSE

  • Rice and Peas ~ Risi e Bisi

  • Venetian Pasta with Anchovies ~ Bigoli in Salsa

MAIN DISHES ~ SECONDI

  • Venetian Liver and Onions ~ Fegato alla Venessiana

  • Casseroled Chicken ~ Polastro in Tecia

  •  Stewed Squid ~ Calamari in Umido

SIDE DISHES ~ CONTORNI

  • Polenta

  • White Asparagus with Egg Sauce ~ Asparagi Bianchi con Uova

  • Sautéed Radicchio ~ Radicchio in Padella

DESSERT ~ DOLCI

  • Venetian Cornmeal Cookies ~ Zaletti

  • Burano Butter Cookies ~ Bussolai Buranese

  • Venetian Carnival Fritters ~ Fritole Venessiane

  • Venetian Carnival Crisps ~ Galani or Crostoli

   RICE AND PEAS
~ RISI E BISI

This dish was traditionally served for the Feast of St. Mark [1], patron saint of Venice, on April 25.  This was when the first peas of the season made their way from the fields in nearby Chioggia to the marketplace at Rialto.  Peas were quite the rage in the 17th and 18th century, particularly in France, and those of Venice would be highlighted in this traditional dish in banquets for international and local dignitaries, including the Doge.  It is soupier than a risotto and generally eaten with a spoon.  Best with fresh, springtime peas in pods but frozen peas can be substituted.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds (900g) fresh peas in pods = about 3 cups shelled peas (or 3 cups frozen peas)

10 cups (2½ quarts/liters) vegetable or chicken broth

2 Tablespoons (1oz/30ml) olive oil

2 Tablespoons (1oz/28g) butter

1 cup (4oz/100g) onion, finely chopped

½ cup (4oz/100g) raw bacon, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1½ cups (10oz/300g) Arborio rice

¾ cup (2oz/75g) Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ cup (1oz/30g) fresh parsley, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE:

1.  Shell peas into a bowl, set aside; place shelled pea pods with broth into a pot, bring to a boil.

2.  Lower heat, cover and simmer pods in broth 15 minutes; set aside until needed.

3.  Heat oil and butter in soup pot; add onion, bacon, garlic and gently sauté until soft.

4.  Add shelled (or rinsed frozen) peas; douse with ¼ cup heated broth, cover, cook 15 minutes.

5.  Strain (and discard) pea pods from hot broth; add broth, rice to peas in pot, stir and cover.

6.  Cook 20 minutes on low heat, covered, stirring occasionally; add salt as desired.

7.  Remove from heat when rice is cooked; stir in Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley.

8.  Serve at once in soup bowls, adding freshly ground pepper as desired.

Serves 6-8

[1] Michiel, Giustina Renier.  Origine delle Feste Veneziane, Vol III, pp 128-146.  Milano presso gli Editori degli Annali Universali delle Scienze e dell’Industria, 1829.

STEWED SQUID ~ CALAMARI IN UMIDO

This delicious stew is typically made with either cuttlefish (sepie, whose brownish ink was used in drawing and printing) or their better known relative, squid (calamari), both abundantly found in the waters surrounding Venice.  By the 18th century tomatoes had found their way into the kitchens of the Veneto, and when added to this classic dish, the resulting sauce (or tocio) was happily sopped up with accompanying bread or polenta.

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound (450g) squid, bodies and tentacles, cleaned

2 Tablespoons (1oz/30ml) olive oil

2 Tablespoon (1oz/28g) butter

½ cup (2oz/70g) onion, finely chopped

½ cup (4oz/125ml) dry white wine (like pinot grigio)

1 cup (8oz/220g) peeled tomatoes, chopped

Few sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

 

PROCEDURE:

1.  Rinse squid, pat dry with paper towels; cut each body lengthwise into strips about 1” wide.

2.  Heat olive oil, butter in a wide saucepan; add chopped onions, cook gently till softened.

3.  Stir in all squid pieces; add wine, allow to evaporate over medium heat, add salt, pepper.

4.  Add tomatoes plus half the garlic and parsley; cover, cook gently, stirring occasionally.

5.  Stew is ready in about half hour, or when sauce has cooked down and squid is tender.

6.  Stir in remaining half of minced parsley, garlic; serve at once with bread or polenta.

Serves 4-6

SAUTÉED RADICCHIO ~ RADICCHIO IN PADELLA

Radicchio is a bitter red lettuce from the chicory family native to Europe and widely popular in the Veneto.  Initially grown as an ornamental plant in the botanical gardens of the Venetian aristocracy, and cultivated into various varieties throughout the region, it soon found its way into the kitchen either as cooked vegetable paired with rice or polenta, or raw lettuce in a salad.  The round, tight heads commonly found in US markets are of the variety originating in Venice’s neighboring town of Chioggia and were among the first types of this lettuce to be sautéed “in the French manner” in Venetian 18th century meals.

INGREDIENTS:

2 heads (about 1lb/450g) radicchio

2 Tablespoons (1oz/30g) olive oil

1 Tablespoon (½oz/15g) butter

½ cup (4oz/120ml) dry white wine

Salt to taste

PROCEDURE:

1.  Cut each radicchio head through its core into quarters, then cut each quarter in half, making sure to have a piece of the core in each of its 8 wedges so that the leaves are held intact.

2.  Heat olive oil, butter in wide sauté pan; when medium-hot, add radicchio wedges.

3.  Sauté about 5 minutes per side, adding salt to taste when all wedges have been turned over.

4.  Add white wine; reduce volume by one half to deglaze the pan, infuse radicchio.

5.  Place radicchio onto serving platter; drizzle with pan juices, serve alongside warm polenta.

Serves 6-8 

        VENETIAN CORNMEAL COOKIES ~ ZALETTI

Venice’s production and trade of cane sugar enriched not only the city’s coffers but also its pastry industry.  This crystalized, sweet substance made for greater refinement in baking, resulting in a vast array of local pastries, cookies, cakes and confections.  Among the most characteristic of these are the zaletti, meaning “little yellow ones” in Venetian dialect, their name reflecting the tint provided by the addition of that typically Veneto ingredient, cornmeal.  These crunchy delicacies are eaten year-round and would certainly have been included at any 18th century banquet or festivity, be it sacred or secular.

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup (3oz/80g) raisins

¼ cup (2oz/60ml) grappa

1 cup (5oz/150g) cornmeal

1¼ cups (5oz/145g) flour

1 teaspoon (pinch/5g)) baking powder

½ teaspoon (pinch) salt

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

½ cup (4oz/114g) sugar

½ cup (4oz/112g) butter, very soft

½ cup (2oz/65g) pine nuts

1 lemon rind, grated

PROCEDURE:

1.  Place raisins in small bowl; pour in grappa, set aside 15 minutes while preparing dough.

2.  Stir cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt into medium mixing bowl; set aside.

3.  In another bowl, blend eggs, sugar, softened butter with rubber spatula until well mixed.

4.  Add dry ingredients to egg/butter mixture a little at a time until well incorporated.

5.  Drain raisins, reserving grappa for later use; add raisins, pine nuts, lemon rind to dough.

6.  Gently knead dough on clean surface, adding flour if too sticky, until all ingredients are well

      incorporated and a smooth dough ball is formed.

7.  Divide dough ball into 4 pieces; using rolling pin, roll each one out to about 1/3” thickness.

8.  Cut into diamond shapes about 2½” long; place cookies on parchment lined baking sheet.

9.  Bake in pre-heated 350F/175C degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

10. Remove hot cookies to serving plate; allow to cool before serving.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.