Veneto cuisine

The Veneto table runs from the Venetian lagoon to the Verona hills: cicchetti and salt cod in the city, risotto in a hundred guises across the plain, and the great Valpolicella reds and Soave whites of the west. It is a cuisine of sweet-sour contrasts, polenta and radicchio, built for both crisp Garganega and brooding Amarone.

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Antipasto

Sarde in SaorSweet-and-sour sardines

Fried sardines marinated with slow-cooked onions, vinegar, pine nuts and raisins - a Venetian sailors' preserve now eaten as a cicchetto.

sardinesonionsvinegarraisinspine nuts

Wines to drink with it

Soave DOC Garganega's freshness and light almond bitterness balance the sweet-sour marinade.
Garganega The grape's acidity cuts the oily fish and the vinegar together.

Baccalà MantecatoWhipped salt cod

Poached stockfish beaten with oil into a soft, pale cream, spread on grilled polenta - a signature Venetian cicchetto.

stockfisholive oilpolenta

Wines to drink with it

Conegliano Valdobbiadene - Prosecco DOCG The DOCG Prosecco's fine bubbles and acidity cut the rich, creamy cod.
Soave DOC A still Garganega white matches the delicacy of the whipped fish.

Primo

Risi e BisiRice and peas

A loose, soupy risotto of new-season peas and rice, historically served to the Doge on St Mark's day.

ricespring peaspancetta

Wines to drink with it

Soave DOC Soave's freshness suits the sweet young peas without covering them.
Garganega The mild almond note of Garganega flatters the delicate spring dish.

Bigoli in SalsaThick pasta in onion-anchovy sauce

Rough, thick whole-wheat pasta dressed with a long-cooked sauce of onions and salted anchovies (or sardines) - a Venetian lean-day dish.

bigoli pastaonionssalted anchovies

Wines to drink with it

Lessini Durello o Durello Lessini DOC Durello's razor acidity slices through the savoury anchovy-onion sauce.
Soave DOC Soave offers a gentler, still counterpoint to the strong sauce.

Risotto al Radicchio di TrevisoTreviso radicchio risotto

A creamy risotto coloured and flavoured by the bitter, spear-leaved late radicchio of Treviso, finished with butter and cheese.

riceradicchio di Trevisobutter

Wines to drink with it

Bardolino DOC A light, cherryish Corvina red echoes the radicchio's pleasant bitterness.
Valpolicella DOC Young Valpolicella's sour-cherry lift matches the bitter leaf.

Secondo

Fegato alla VenezianaVenetian-style calf's liver

Thin slices of calf's liver cooked quickly with a mass of sweet, slow-softened onions, served with grilled polenta.

calf's liveronionspolenta

Wines to drink with it

Valpolicella DOC Its bright acidity and soft tannin balance the rich liver and sweet onions.
Corvina Veronese Corvina's sour-cherry character lifts the dish's sweetness.

Pastissada de CavalVerona horse-meat stew

Horse (or beef) marinated in red wine and slow-braised for hours into a dark Verona stew, traditionally served over polenta or gnocchi.

horse or beefred winepolenta

Wines to drink with it

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG The powerful, dried-grape Amarone has the concentration to meet the long, dark braise.
Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Ripasso's 're-passed' body and warmth are a natural, less weighty match.

Dolce

TiramisùCoffee-mascarpone dessert

Savoiardi soaked in coffee layered with a whipped mascarpone-and-egg cream, dusted with cocoa - a dessert claimed by Treviso.

savoiardimascarponecoffeecocoa

Wines to drink with it

Recioto di Soave DOCG The dried-Garganega sweet white matches the mascarpone cream without fighting the coffee.
Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG For the cocoa side, the sweet red Recioto meets the chocolate dusting.