EXPLORE VENICE WITH A SPOON
PHOTOGRAPHS HELEN CATHCART
VENICE: A CITY LIKE NO OTHER
‘My husband Giancarlo is from Tuscany and together we’ve travelled all over Italy, but we both fell under the spell of Venice. One of the many things that makes it special is that you can be walking down a backstreet and it looks just as it would have done several hundred years ago – no ugly shop sign sticking out, no parked cars. During a quiet moment there’s nothing to shatter the illusion.
Venetian fish soup with saffron (turn the page for the recipe). opposite To this day, Venice’s canals still provide the primary means for transport of goods and people
‘In medieval and Renaissance times, Venice was one of the most prosperous cities in Europe. Situated on the Adriatic coast, it straddles East and West, and was able to dominate Mediterranean commerce. The beautiful palazzi you see everywhere were built on the profits of the spice trade, but much of the food served in the city is simple – really simple. For example, sardines, so recently pulled from the lagoon they are still in rigor mortis, might be prepared just with olive oil and breadcrumbs.
‘We love this simplicity, but wondered what had happened to the exotic, sensual, spice-filled dishes that were once served? Discovering Bistrot de Venise, a restaurant in San Marco that recreates historical dishes from the 14th to the 18th centuries, was a revelation – and gave me probably the most amazing meal of my life. It inspired us to look back, and so Giancarlo and I covered miles of Venice’s tiny alleyways, eating, talking, sampling and researching, in order to get to the heart of true Venetian cooking. As the local saying goes: “Eat and drink, because life is a lightning flash.”’
Katie Caldesi
ADA’S FISH SOUP WITH SAFFRON
Ada Cotto was head chef at the restaurant known locally as Alla Vedova, ‘The Widow’s Place’, for 30 years. Married to a gondolier, there is nothing she doesn’t know about Venetian food. Ada’s advice for fish soup is to choose what is fresh in the market and fished sustainably. She uses a mixture of monkfish, gurnard, shrimp, baby octopus, prawns, clams and mussels. Discard any broken shells and shellfish that remain open before cooking.
SERVES 6
6tbsp extra virgin olive oil