veneto
Most famous dish
of Veneto and VeniceFegato alla Veneziana
Though meat dishes are a minority in Venice, one is world famous: Fegato alla Veneziana, tissue-thin calves' liver slices sauteed with onions.
Seafood
Adriatic Sea
The principal source of animal protein comes from the seafood caught in the cool northern Adriatic Sea.
Scampo
The Adriatic waters exclusively yield one of the world's greatest culinary delights, the scampo. When seen on American menus, "scampi" (plural of scampo) almost invariably means oversized shrimp (not the true scampo). Moreover, they lack the delicate, sweet flavor of the genuine crustacean species.
More Neptune stars
Other excellent local seafood worth sampling includes shrimp, crayfish, cuttlefish, mussels, eel, sole and mullet.
Major starch staples of Venice and Veneto
Rice reigns
Rice, not pasta, is the principal starch staple of Venice and is typically served combined with other ingredients. The most splendid application is in the vegetable dish Risi e Bisi, literally Rice and Peas.
Polenta
Outside Venice, in the Veneto region, the firm cornmeal-mush specialty, polenta, rivals and in some places supplants rice as the primary starch staple.
Pasta
Pasta, though in the third place in the starch popularity poll, has over the last century been steadily increasing its share of the market.
Wine
Veneto's world famous trio
From southwestern Veneto near the "Romeo and Juliet" city of Verona come three reasonably good wines:
- Soave
Dry white. - Bardolino
Light-bodied red. - Valpolicella
Slightly fuller bodied red and better than the Bardolino.
Venice is the finest all-around food city in Veneto. Verona is the runner-up.
Criteria: Includes cooking, dining, food markets, cooking ingredients, cooking schools, beverages.
