Veneto, a colourful planet full of flavour
3 minutes
Venetian cuisine represents a journey as long as the history of Venice, in which talents, traditions, products, flavours and raw materials have met, giving life to masterpieces, such as Tiramisù, Pandoro, Prosecco and spritz, of worldwide fame.
Each province will surprise you with the variety and simplicity of its food. One above all, polenta, the iconic dish, which can be eaten alone or with meat, liver and cod stews.
Have a 'cicheto', a kind of appetiser accompanied by good wine or spritz, invented here a hundred years ago. Among the first courses not to be missed are bigoli, rough spaghetti with a hole, from the dialect word 'bigat' (caterpillar), or a 'risi e bisi' with vialone nano, a typical local rice.
Move on to 'fegato alla veneziana' (Venetian style liver), one of the city's famous dishes, horse filet, liver sausage (figalét), 'sopa coada' (broiled soup), a delicious pigeon pie, or the 'spiedo d'Alta Marca', from the Treviso area.
For fish, try 'baccalà alla Vicentina', the mainstay of Veneto cuisine, 'bisato in tecia' (pan-cooked eel), but also sarde in saor (sardines with flavour) and folpi (octopus).
Take a bite of Asiago or Fior delle Dolomiti with a slice of prosciutto veneto berico Euganeo and a small plate of white asparagus from Bassano del Grappa and red radicchio from Treviso, and approach the dessert trolley: among all, Tiramisù, originally from Treviso, and Pandoro, soft and buttery, which traces its origins to Verona from a very old cake.
Finally, ask us about the wines of the Veneto, another planet on the many roads dedicated to them, from the whites Prosecco and Soave, to the prized reds such as Recioto and Amarone.
Would you like something else? Certainly, a grappa, of which the region is a leader in its production.
Between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the Prosecco hills
Explore this Unesco-protected cultural landscape in the province of Treviso, where the vineyards triumph with the grapes of the Prosecco Superiore Docg, straw yellow in colour and slightly sparkling, which goes well with boiled meats, white meats and light sausages.
From Conegliano to Valdobbiadene you will find deposits of typical products that represent the Marca Trevigiana: Radicchio, in primis (Rosso Tardivo, Rosso Precoce and Variegato di Castelfranco).
If the season is right, you will come across another vegetable, asparagus (the Bianco di Cimadolmo Igp and that of Badoere Igp), to be eaten with tasty sausages, such as ossocollo, salado trevisan or soppressa trevisana.
You will also find delicious cheeses, such as Bastardo del Grappa, Morlacco, and 'formajo inbriago' (drunk cheese). In particular, in Pieve di Soligo, listen to the story of Casatella Trevigiana DOP, a soft cheese with a mild aroma and sweet flavour.
In Combai, you must try the territory's marrone (chestnut), toasted in the 'rostidora', which is easy to peel and happily eaten with a glass of Prosecco.
In addition to the emperor of the territory, you can taste other wines that have found fortune on this route, such as Pinot bianco, Verduzzo, Sauvignon, for the whites, Refosco, Merlot and Raboso Piave, for the reds.
Typical dishes
Vicenza-style salt cod
A miraculous dish obtained from a fish that is usually woody and stodgy, which demonstrates the inventive capacity of the Vicenza people. It is characterised by an abundance of sauce that gives the dish a soft, full-bodied flavour.
The Tiramisu
You should know that the ancestor of this dessert was the 'Sbatudin' typical of the Treviso peasant tradition, made with egg yolk beaten with sugar until it became a frothy cream. To these two ingredients, add mascarpone, ladyfingers, coffee and cocoa powder to have a piece of heaven on your plate.
