Here are a few favorite dishes from Veneto Euganea which should adapt themselves well to your American kitchen. The first one is basically our time-tested liver and onions, but it is done with a flourish and a delicate bouquet of supplementary flavors.
Fegato alla Veneziana
Cut ½ pound calf's liver in small, very thin chips. Slice 1 good-sized onion and sauré it until golden in I tablespoon butter melted with an equal amount of oil. Add 2 tablespoons dry white wine and reduce the sauce over a high flame. Add the liver and over a good hot fire brown the chips briefly on both sides.Add more salt and pepper if necessary, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon and a few drops of lemon juice. Serve immediately.
The second celebrated Venetian specialty rarely travels far from its home territory, and a great pity it is. This dish of rice and peas could become a favored fixture in many an American home, and we hope you will give the recipe more than usual consideration.
Risi e Bisi (Venetian Rice and Peas)
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and ¼ cup butter in a heavy kettle, and in it brown I small onion, chopped, and ½ slice bacon, cut into dice. Add 2 cups freshly shelled green peas and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add ¾ cup raw rice and cook for 3 minutes longer, stirring constantly until the kernels are well coated with oil and butter. Add 1 ½ cups chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste, cover the kettle and cook over a low fire for 15 to 20 minutes. The rice should have absorbed all the liquid, and it should be tender, but not mushy. Toss with 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese. More cheese may be sprinkled on the individual servings.
Baked Fish Veneziana
This recipe calls for a 3-pound weak-fish, but any good fish may be used. Pound in a mortar 3 shallots and I small clove of garlic, both chopped, 2 teaspoons chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon chopped chervil, and 1 teaspoon chopped chives. When the ingredients are well mashed and blended, add 2 tablespoons butter and the juice of ½ lemon. Work all together again and press through a fine sieve.
Split open the fish, remove the backbone and lay the fish, skin side down, in a shallow buttered baking dish. Season the fish with salt and pepper and spread it with the delicious green butter. Bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) for about 30 minutes, basting often with the butter.
Venetian Soup
Beat 3 egg yolks well with ½ cup cream and stir this into 6 cups cold beef stock. Heat the soup slowly, stirring, until it reaches the boiling point, but do not allow it to boil. Serve with a slice of toasted Italian bread on each serving, and pass grated Parmesan cheese separately.
Pasta and Beans alla Voneta
Soak ¾ pound of dried beans overnight. Drain the beans and cook them slowly in a large saucepan with 2 quarts unsalted water. Before the beans are tender add salt to taste.
Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a deep saucepan and add a sprig of rosemary. Cook slowly about 3 minutes and discard the rosemary. Add 3 chopped cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley to the oil and brown lightly without allowing the herbs to burn. Stir in 1 tablespoon flour and cook for several minutes, stirring until the roux is smooth. Add a generous tablespoon of tomato paste and cook until the mixture has the consistency of a thick sauce. Add the cooked beans and about ¾ cup of the liquid in which the beans were cooked and bring to a boil. Add a little less than ½ pound of the pasta known as ditalini, or of any other small pasta. Cook the pasta until it is barely tender, cover the pan and set in a warm place for 10 minutes before serving.
Brodetto di Pesco alla Veneziana
This fish stew or soup contains a variety of fresh fish from the Adriatic.Sole and eel should be present, and any other fresh fish you may be able to obtain. preferably those not too full of small bones.
Reserve about 2 pounds of the choicest pieces of fish. Pound all the scraps in a mortar and sauté them in hot oil in a saucepan with 1 sliced onion, a good sprig of parsley and a bay leaf. When they have taken on color add a good spoonful of tomato paste, 1 cup water and ½ cup dry while wine. Cover the pan and cook the sauce slowly for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, pressing it to force the solid parts through. Serve with slices of crusty bread fried in olive oil.
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