Veneto
At one point in history, the city of Venice controlled a major trading empire reaching to India and the Spice Islands, and created a cuisine rich with the black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and other spices it brought into Europe. Now, of course, spices are used much more sparingly, and the cuisines of the Veneto and its capital Venice have evolved to highlight their ingredients, rather than mask them.
Large amounts of rice and corn are grown in the Veneto, which means risotto and polenta, rather than pasta, serve as the region’s main starches. Two of Venice’s most famous risottos are rici e pisi, or rice and peas, and black risotto, colored with squid ink.
Being a coastal region, the Veneto enjoys many of the fruits of the Adriatic Sea, and features them in its risottos and other dishes. Some traditional seafood dishes are scampi alla veneziana, scampi cooked and marinated in olive oil and lemon juice; sfogi in saor, fried sole in a sweet and sour sauce; codfish mantecato, cod creamed with milk, oil, and garlic; and soft-shell crabs, which are available late April and early May, and are usually deep-fried.
Other, non-seafood specialties of the region are sauteed liver with caramelized onions, and pasta e fagioli, bean soup with pasta.
