Venice City of Dreams

destinations
joeduck
italy
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taste& travel international  july–september 2013
destinations
italy
Venice
Where on Earth
Venice
by
City of Dreams
Nathan Fong
Walking along the elevated boardwalk, I
felt like a kid again, balancing on the narrow pathway, trying
to avoid the crowd coming towards me without losing my
footing and tumbling into the water below.
I was in one of the world's most stunning public squares,
the renowned Piazza San Marco, or St Mark’s Square, in the
northern Italian city of Venice. The flood waters, known as
acqua alta, had started early in the morning and were slowly
receding throughout the square, now just inches of briny
lagoon water. A couple of weeks later tourists and Venetians
would be donning waterproofs and rubber boots to wade
through record-high waters. Rising sea levels have been
threatening the city for years.
Venice has always been known for its close relationship
with the sea. Originally located in the marsh lands of the
Venetian Lagoon, the city is comprised of over a hundred
small islands linked by bridges and canals.
Established in the fifth century, and originally called
Torcello, the city expanded over the marshlands and lagoon,
and was renamed Venezia, after the ancient Veneti people
who inhabited the region up to the tenth century. The ‘City of
Water’ grew and became a major maritime centre over the
clockwise from top left Bougainvillea; Floating Market
Vendor; Banana Tree; Dinah Veris.
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Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, commerce and culture
flourished and since the late fifteenth century, the influence of
Venice on the history and development of architecture,
monumental arts and painting has been huge. The spectacular
blending of the Gothic with Asian Byzantine and Moorish
influence from Spain secured the city of Venice and its Lagoon
as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Situated on the mouth of the Adriatic Sea, with the Alps
and Austria to the north and the Slavic countries to the east,
its location gives Venetian cuisine its particular distinction,
separate from the rest of Italy. The short, plump grains of
Arborio and Carnaroli rice from the neighbouring Po River
Delta are key to the steaming bowls of creamy risotto, cooked
with freshly harvested vegetables or fresh shellfish from the
Adriatic. Hailing from the northern plains, smooth, slowcooked bowls of polenta are enriched with creamy, seasonal
taleggio cheese. The surrounding Slavic countries brought
wild mushrooms, pork, game to the table, and the finery of
Austrian cuisine introduced strudel to the Venetian repertoire.
Unlike the heavier cuisine from the western cities of Rome
and Milan, rich with meat and dairy, Venetian dishes are
simpler. Milan’s butter, parmesan and saffron infused risotto is
a contrast to Venice’s Risi e Bisi, a simple risotto graced with
pancetta and fresh peas. Razor clams from the lagoon are
quickly tossed with olive oil, garlic and white wine, finished
with aromatic Italian parsley. Sepe al Nero are young, tender
cuttlefish cooked with their rich black ink. Sardines are
marinated in spices and vinegar and lightly fried. And then
there's the magnificent a showcase of local Adriatic seafood
delicately fried, traditionally served with polenta.
Venetian cuisine is matched with the superb wines of the
region, from light sparkling Prosecco, to the wonderful Pinot
Grigios. The Spritz, the regional cocktail of Prosecco splashed
with a dash of Campari or Aperol, the herbaceous, bitter
liqueur, became my favourite aperitif.
Although tourists flock by the thousands to the famous
Piazza and its surrounding architectural opulence — the
magnificent twelfth-century Venetian Gothic Palazzo Ducale
(Doges’ Palace), the adjacent eleventh- century Basilica of
Saint Mark with its stunning vaulted Byzantine gilded mosaics,
the soaring Campanile (Bell Tower) which overlooks the
horizon of islands, attached by numerous canals and bridges
— there is so much more to this water-locked city. As the
concierge at our hotel enthused, “The best way to explore
Venezia is to get lost!” For the next week, we did just that.
Home base was the three-year-old boutique hotel, the
Palazzina G on the Grand Bank, next to the modern art
museum, the Palazzo Grassi. Rebuilt within a sixteenthcentury exterior, the über modern rooms are the work of the
enfant terrible of the design world, Philippe Starck. His
signature white rooms are ‘expanded’ by mirrored walls, his
bathrooms fitted with white marble and gleaming chrome.
With space at a premium in this tightly fitted city, the rooms
taste& travel international  july–september 2013
clockwise from top left Bougainvillea; Floating Market
Vendor; Banana Tree; Dinah Veris.
destinations
Cook
it
…It’s not Italian unless you
have a selection of fungi…
born chef prepare a tasting menu of contemporary Venetian dishes.
We began with a smooth and delicate borlotti bean soup graced
with local prawns. Then a stunning dish of artisan pasta lightly
tossed with anchovies and butter. Our main feature was a succulent
whole turbot, roasted on thinly sliced potatoes and cherry tomatoes
and seasoned with olive oil, sea salt, pepper and aromatic thyme
sprigs — straightforward, simple and fresh ingredients.
Born into an aristocratic Venetian family, and with a passion for
local food, Enrica Rocca conducts private market tours and cooking
classes in her family’s sixteenth-century palazzo. Known as ‘The
Cooking Countess,’ Enrica showcases Venetian cuisine like no other
cooking class I’ve experienced. Meeting her in the lobby of the
Palazzina G one morning, we walk to the oldest market in Venice.
For over 700 years, the Rialto Market has been a vital heart to
many important kitchens in this water-bound city. In its pescaria, we
admire the moscardini (baby octopus), various soft shell crabs
(moeche) and the much loved inky squid (seppie). Enrica plans her
daily cooking session by what her students feel like eating, what’s
fresh and in season. Today, we see razor clams, tiny whole shrimp,
large lagoon prawns, cuttlefish, ruby red tuna, and mushrooms. It’s
not Italian unless you have a selection of fungi!
After shopping, it’s time for the first serious drink of the day, and
we enjoy a Spritz at a local bacaro (wine bar) accompanied with a
couple of cicchetti (local-style tapas). We arrive at the family
palazzo set on the Grand Canal, where ‘the countess’ has
transformed an area of the home into an open teaching kitchen. It’s
here for the next few hours we immerse ourselves in cooking simple,
rustic Venetian fare. The shrimp are quickly deep-fried, lightly salted
and popped into our mouths like popcorn, crisp shells and all. The
razor clams are sautéed with olive oil, garlic, chilies, white wine and a
handful of Italian parsley, just until their rectangular shells open,
exposing their tender meats. There are no recipes and no
measurements, but liberal splashes of wine, fragrant olive oils,
seasonings and freshly chopped herbs. This is the culinary simplicity
and wizardry of Enrica Rocca and her beloved Venice.
Our final days in Venezia were spent at the romantic Bauers Hotel
on a primo location on the Grand Canal. For three generations it's
been one of the city’s leading family-owned hotels, an eighteenth-
italy
are cleverly appointed with contemporary armoires that do triple
duty as a closet, mini bar and entertainment centre.
While the rooms are stark, the hotel’s PG Restaurant is somewhat
reminiscent of an old boys’ club, with its comfy lounge chairs set
amongst linen-draped dining tables and hand-blown Murano
glassworks. The main attraction here is the restaurant’s showcase
open kitchen run by young chef Paolo Businaro. The evening we
dined at PG, we were entranced watching this wunderkind Verona-
Serves 4
Anchovies
and Salted Butter
Spaghetti with
I’ve always been fond of strong,
pungent ingredients such as blue cheese,
Chinese dried fish and the wonderful
salt-cured flavour of anchovies.
Venetian cuisine is known for its
simplicity, both with ingredients and in
cooking. In this flavourful pasta dish,
Chef Paolo Businaro combines three
straightforward and easy ingredients
into a stunning elegant entree. The
butter mellows out the intensity of the
anchovies, so that even the non-anchovy
lover will enjoy this delectable dish!
For extra texture, I’d also recommend
tossing in some crisp, toasted coarse
breadcrumbs as a garnish.
Spaghetti1 1 lb
Butter 4 Tbs, cut into small cubes
Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil 12, finely chopped
1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil
and cook spaghetti to al dente.
2 In a container with a lid, mix the diced butter and
chopped anchovy fillets.
3 Drain the spaghetti reserving about a cup of
the pasta water. Add the hot spaghetti to the
container with butter and anchovies, and about ½
cup of the reserved cooking water. Close the lid
and shake well until it forms a creamy sauce. Add
the remaining water if you want a wetter pasta.
Transfer to warm serving dishes and place an
anchovy fillet on top as a garnish.
1
High quality, artisanal, if you can find it, but
regular spaghetti is fine.
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clockwise from top left Bougainvillea; Floating Market
Vendor; Banana Tree; Dinah Veris.
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taste& travel international  july–september 2013
destinations
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clockwise from top left Bougainvillea; Floating Market
Vendor; Banana Tree; Dinah Veris.
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joeduck
destinations
Visit
it
italy
Hotel Palazzina G
www.palazzinag.com
The Bauers Hotels
www.bauervenezia.com
Enrica Rocca
“The Cooking Countess”
www.enricarocca.com
Restaurant PG & Bar
www.palazzinag.com
Trattoria Da Fiore
www.trattoriadafiore.com
This wonderful neighbourhood
trattoria is practically void of tourists
and serves superb simple Venetian
cuisine at its best. We loved it so
much we went twice.
Rosa Rossa Ristorante Pizzeria
ristoranterosarossa@gmail.com
This small and intimate pizzeria
serves not only great thin crust
pizza, but wonderful local dishes.
Johnny Depp was a regular here
while he filmed “The Tourist.”
Millevini Enoteca
www.millevini.it
Probably the best wine store in
Venice, part of Enrica Rocca’s
culinary market tour. We were
introduced to some of the best
proseccos and pinot grigios the
region has to offer.
joeduck
Click
it
Vancouver born Nathan Fong segued from
cooking and catering to a brilliant career as a food
and props stylist for culinary print and film advertising,
with a distinguished international client list. He is
celebrating his 23rd year as television host for his food
and travel segments on GlobalTV and a columnist for
The Vancouver Sun and writes his popular blogs at
www.vancouversun.com and www. fongonfood.com
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below Bougainvillea; Floating
Market Vendor; Banana Tree; Dinah
Veris. facing page clockwise from top left
Dinah Veris
k
Coo
it
italy
century palazzo purchased in 1930 by
Arnaldo Bennati and brought back
meticulously to its former glory. A
glamorous Art Deco addition was
introduced. In 1997, Bennati’s
granddaughter Francesca Bortolotto
Possati, the city’s first female hotelier, took
the controversial move of separating the
iconic hotel into two separate wings, Il
Palazzo, with its Gothic façade and arched
lancet windows overlooking the canal, and
The Bauers L’Hotel, also housed in an 1
eighteenth-century façade but with the
contemporary art deco- inspired interior.
Although we had a stunningly appointed
room with lush Rubelli and Bevilacqua
fabrics, white Carrara marble and gold
appointed bathrooms, it was on our
balcony set over a side canal we spent our
last hours. Here we sat lingering over our
Spritz flutes watching the happenings
below: the merchants navigating their
wares through the narrow alleys, the
tourists lining up for their gondola voyage
on the canals, the throngs crushing in to
get their pictures taken on the commercial
gondola tours.
Venice is best at night, when the
tourists disappear, the air is still, the briny
mist rises from the lagoon and evening
lights glow with mystique. This was the
Venice I remembered when I first visited
this aquatic city over two decades ago. To
me, it still is one of the world’s great cities
of enchantment.
Serves 4
Borlotti Bean Soup with Shrimp
This comforting soup is from the Hotel Palazzina G
Restaurant’s young, talented chef Paolo Businaro, who
strongly believes in cooking seasonally and regionally, and
as simply as possible. Made from Borlotti beans from the
plateau of Lamon, in the northern Veneto region at the base
of the Dolomites, these are heirloom varietals, grown by
farmers in small production. They are beige in colour, large
and round, with bright red streaks and are popular due to
their smooth texture and delicate flavour.
Dried Lamon or
Borlotti Beans
¾ lb
1 Rinse the beans well, removing any loose stones. Place
into a mixing bowl and cover with cold water and allow
to soak at least 6 hours.
Extra Virgin
Olive Oil 5 Tbs
2 Heat a deep saucepan over medium heat and add 2
Tbs olive oil, the pork rind and vegetables and sauté
for 5 minutes until the vegetables start to soften. Add
the beans and cover with the broth. Season with salt
and pepper, and simmer for about an hour or until
beans are soft but yet have a bite.
Pork Rind1 2 oz
Carrot
1, peeled and cut
into ½" dice
White Onion
1 medium,
peeled and cut
into ½" dice
Celery 1 stick, cut
into ½" dice
Beef Broth
8 cups
Sea Salt and
Freshly Ground
Black Pepper
to taste
Fresh Rosemary
1 sprig
Garlic 1 clove,
halved
Shrimp 8
medium, cleaned
and gutted
Brandy 2 Tbs
3 Put 2 Tbs olive oil into a small saucepan and warm
the garlic and the rosemary over medium heat for 2
minutes to infuse the oil.
4 Remove and set aside to cool. Remove garlic and
rosemary. Set aside 4 Tbs of the beans for garnishing.
5 Remove pork rind and purée the stock and beans
using an immersion blender or process in a blender in
batches. If too thick, add a bit more beef broth (the
soup should be thick in texture).
6 Stir in the infused garlic and rosemary olive oil, season
to taste and keep warm.
7 Heat the remaining olive oil in a small skillet over
medium-high heat and when hot, sauté the shrimp for
30 seconds, then add brandy.
8 Sauté shrimp until cooked, about 2 minutes.
9 Ladle the hot soup into warm soup bowls, and
garnish with the reserved beans and two shrimps each.
1
Or bacon.
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