Risotto and the Veneto Region Italian Food
With so many different Italian food dishes it is hard to pick a favorite. However, for those who like risotto, Veneto is the region for you! Italian food varies greatly by region with each area presenting their own unique dishes and flavors. One of the most recognized Italian food dishes is Risotto and because of that Veneto is a must stop region for those travelers in Italy wanting to taste some excellent Italian food.
Risotto is most simply a rice dish cooked very precisely. It is one of the most commonly ordered appetizers at Italian food restaurants. Yet for its amazing popularity, it is also one of the most common Italian food dishes to be botched. The key to a good risotto is to first cook the rice briefly in olive oil or butter. It should be cooked until it is evenly coated and begins to turn translucent. After that, broth is added to the rice slowly, one spoonful at a time. The most defining quality of a risotto is that the rice is toasted. If the rice isn’t toasted than it’s not a risotto, no matter how fine the Italian food restaurant is that you’re in.
There are many different variations on risotto because it can be made and served with so many different Italian food favorites. In Veneto the ingredients added to the risotto are determined by location. For instance, in areas closer to the coast it will be made with fish and other seafood. As you move in from the coast you will see risotto made with different vegetables like pumpkin, asparagus, and radicchio. It is also commonly seen made with frogs’ legs which appear in Italian food more than most people think.
The Veneto region is also home to some unique foods. The dishes here are heavier and rely on exotic spices and sauces. One unique dish that originated here and is quickly gaining popularity as an Italian food dish is pasta and beans. Beans are used in many dishes here due to their ready availability. This is also an area of Italy where anchovies and stock fish are used extensively in Italian food. However, fish is not the dish of choice here, being beaten out by meats and sausages. A favorite meat is sopressata which is a dry-cured salami. It gets its name from the fact that while drying it is often pressed with a weight and comes out looking flat. It is most often made with pork, but sometimes beef is used. Another favorite Italian food meat is garlic salami. The Italian food here is also reliant on some of the prized vegetables of the area. Veneto is especially known for their high quality red radicchio and their asparagus. One last dish that is unique to the area is a rice dish with young peas.
The Italian food of Veneto clearly breaks the mold. It is full of diversity from dishes made wholly with vegetables and rice, to some of the most famous sausages in the world. If a night of Italian food for you must include risotto, than Veneto is the place to be. If you consider yourself a sausage connoisseur than the Italian food of Veneto will again be a must taste for you
White Wine Vinegar Spanish Boquerones
Boquerones are small, fresh anchovies. Accompanied by crisp, fresh Spanish bread, a glass of ruby-red wine or refreshing Asturian cider, they are a delight to eat.
Methods for preparing boquerones tend to vary slightly. However, the basic principles are always the same. You first have to clean and fillet the fish, which is simple enough, but rather tedious until you get the hang of it.
Next, you soak the fillets, either in white wine vinegar or a mixture of half vinegar and half water. The vinegar will clean and bleach the fish and also soften any remaining little bones. Some people sprinkle the fish with salt; others feel that the fish is salty enough already. The fish has to be left for a good few hours soaking in the vinegar. Again, this tends to vary, with some Spaniards leaving them overnight in the fridge and others just waiting a couple of hours. Also, some change the vinegar/water-and-vinegar mixture once during this process, whilst others don´t bother.
Once you have thrown away the vinegar, the bleached fillets are covered with a good quality virgin olive oil, which will preserve them. You can add as much, or as little, sliced garlic as you wish, plus freshly chopped parsley. Here is the actual recipe:
Ingredients:
1 kilo fresh anchovies
White wine vinegar
Virgin olive oil
Garlic
Parsley
Salt (optional)
Directions
Top and tail anchovies. Slit along underside and discard innards. Open out fish. Remove central bone by lifting from tail end upwards. Rinse well.
Place a layer of anchovy fillets in a shallow dish. Sprinkle with salt (optional) and pour on plenty of vinegar. Repeat with another layer, changing direction.
Leave to soak in vinegar for a few hours or overnight. Pour off vinegar. Very gently rinse fillets. Cover fillets in virgin olive oil and add slices of garlic and chopped parsley.
The Top 10 Most Popular French Dishes
Popular French dish beef bourguignon
In France, good food still means authentic cooking by using natural products from diverse regions. This is how we celebrate human being by offering the best food to all our senses. Cooking home-made food and eating at the table make your appetite grow stronger. The challenge is to combine ingredients together to get the best taste out of them. However anyone from anywhere can explore the world of french cooking. To start with, let’s find out what french people enjoy to eat.
Here are the top 10 most popular recipes in France:
Roast Chicken
Indeed roast chicken is not a notorious french recipe but cooked everywhere around the world from Asia and Africa to America. However it is the most popular french dish. Roast chicken is not stuffed inside. The secret is to baste the poultry several times during roasting with butter and cooking oil and to add an onion in the roasting pan. Roast chicken is traditionally served with potatoes and green beans.
Beef Bourguignon
The most famous beef stew in France. Beef bourguignon is a traditional recipe from Burgundy. A recipe that french people use to cook at least once every winter. The beef meat is cooked in a red wine sauce, obviously a red wine from Burgundy. Bacon, onions, mushrooms and carrots add flavor to the recipe. But thyme, garlic and beef stock are essential to cook a good beef bourguignon.
Mussels mariniere
A typical summer recipe very popular along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast. Mussels are fresh and cooked in a white wine sauce with parsley, thyme, bay leaf and onion. It takes only 5 minutes to cook a tasteful mussels mariniere. The secret is to season carefully the meal and to discard any mussels that don’t look good enough.
Sole meuniere
Although sole is an expensive fish, the taste is so elegant that it is considered as the noblest fish. Sole meuniere is a recipe from Normandy. The fish is cooked in a butter sauce with a little bit of flour and lemon juice. Sole is traditionally served with rice or green vegetables.
Pot au feu
A typical family meal coming once again from Normandy. Pot au feu is a boiled beef with pork, chicken and vegetables. It takes about 4 hours an a half to cook as the beef has to simmer slowly to extract all its flavor. Pot au feu is also called Potee Normande in France.
Sauerkraut
Quite similar to the german sauerkraut, the french sauerkraut called choucroute comes from Alsace. However the french recipe can be traced back to 6 centuries ago ! Sauerkraut is a fermented cabbage. Commonly sauerkraut includes sausages, pork knuckle and bacon. Two essential ingredients are alsatian white wine and juniper berries.
Veal stew
Called blanquette de veau in France, this is another stew recipe from Normandy. The veal meat simmers in white sauce – as blanquette from blanc stands for white in french – with mushrooms and onions. The white sauce is made of egg yolks, whipping cream and lemon juice. Veal stew is usually served with rice.
Lamb navarin
Another stew but this one is made of lamb meat. It is also called spring lamb as it comes with green vegetables available in spring. Navarin comes from navet which stands for turnips in french. Other ingredients are tomatoes, lamb stock and carrots. This stew takes less time to simmer than any other.
Cassoulet
A strange recipe that english people often confuse with their traditional breakfast! A traditional meal from south west of France. Each village has its own recipe but it always includes beans and meats. Cassoulet is a rich combination of white beans and depending on the village lamb, pork, mutton or sausage meat. Cassoulet is the cornerstone of the french paradox study describing why people from south west of France suffer less than others from infarcts.
Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse is closely linked with the city of Marseille on the Mediterranean coast. The recipe is a fish soup from local fish and seafood products including crabs, scorpion fish, monk fish and others. Provencal herbs and olive oil are essential. For a long time, the recipe was a secret jealously kept by the people from Marseille.