THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE, The Wonders Of Local Cuisine

Hi, my name’s James, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to the wonderful flavors of Venetian cooking.

Venetian dishes are mostly made with ingredients caught or bred in the lagoon, but most are characteristic of the Mediterranean area in general, such as starters featuring mollusks, spaghetti with mussels or clams, and grilled and fried dishes.

A typically Venetian starter is sarde in saor, fried sardines served with onions caramelized in vinegar, pine-nuts and raisins. The recipe originated from the sailors’ need to preserve food for long periods, because the vinegar keeps the fish edible for days.

As for Venetian first courses, you can choose from bigoli, a long variety of fresh pasta served with a sauce made from anchovies and onions, or risotto with gò, a fish caught in the lagoon, or risotto al nero di seppia, rice cooked in squid’s ink.

Squid itself is also very popular.

You’ll also find first courses prepared with country produce, such as risi e bisi, rice with peas stewed with bacon, or pasta e fagioli, which unlike in other parts of Italy is made with the darker borlotti variety of beans, puréed and boiled with pork lard....