Photo by Helen Cathcart
I vowed I wouldn’t get any more books on the food of Venice. Couldn’t see that I could ever need another one. But then I came across this volume by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi, and couldn’t resist. Yes, there are indeed all the greatest hits and old favourites in it, recipes that are collected in many of the books that make up my expansive Venetian collection, but within its pages, along with dreamy photographs of a city whose beauty always hits me afresh, is such a lively narrative, both personal and historical, and a rich collection of recipes, some of them utterly new to me, that it soon became obvious that not only did I very much need this book, but I also really had to bring it to your attention. It would have been selfish of me not to do so!
The cartoon jauntiness of the book’s cover is no indication of the majesty and sweep of the material it contains. The following list of my especially earmarked favourites could be double its length, frankly, but here are just some of the recipes that made this book indispensable for me: Sweet and Sour Onions (Cipolle in Saor); Carpaccio di Manzo, the famous raw beef salad invented by Giuseppe Cipriani of Harry’s Bar in 1950; the most gorgeous Little Salted Bread Rolls (Foccaccine); Porcini and Pecorino Strudels; Black Linguine with Crab; Cocoa Ravioli stuffed with Gorgonzola and Walnuts; Risotto alla Sbirraglia, a rich chicken risotto I’ve never come across before, and a Prawn Risotto that I’m impatient to make; Butter Bean and Mint Salad; Clams in Ginger Broth; Le Secoe — an ancient and very slow cooked beef stew — with (less ancient) Parmesan Mash; my favourite Fegato alla Veneziana or, as you could well call them, liver-slivers with onions; and Chicken with Ginger, Saffron and Dates. From the sweet side of things, I need to tell you about the Doughnuts filled with Zabaione Cream; the Venetian Pear Tart, which is in fact a pie with a beautifully runkled top; the most wonderful-sounding Cherries in Wine; and Lemon Ice Cream, which leads to Sgroppino, one of my favourite things to eat — or drink! — in the whole wide world (though I have only ever come across it made with lemon sorbet up till now) in which you beat or blend the lemon ice cream with vodka and Prosecco. In short, this is a wonderful little book, packed with food designed to make life better. And the recipe I’ve chosen for you today is the Bacon, Chestnut and Barley Soup. I couldn’t not! Given the raininess here at the moment, it couldn’t be more right for now, even if it is August, but it will really come into its own in the Autumn and Winter months to come.
Recipes from Venice by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi (Hardie Grant, £18.99).
Photography by Helen Cathcart.
