How to eat in Venice

We are in Campo della Pescheria, in Venice.
It is almost dawn, but you have to be early to the Rialto market if you want to get fresh delicacies.

Today, Rialto Market houses the traditional fish market under the Logge della Pescaria (Fish Market Porticoes) and the fruit and vegetable market in the adjacent Campo de l’Erbaria (Piazza of the Herbs).

The market opens at 7:00 am and closes at 12:30 pm.
A typical modern gondolier on the phone, awaiting the first tourists.

Boats docking near Rialto Market to unload fish, fruit and vegetables.

A view of the market.

The market is also a place for exchanging greetings; many tourists go to see the market but those who really know and buy the typical products are the owners of local restaurants.

Greengrocers and fishmongers feel the change of tradition acutely: their products would once be sold out only minutes after placing them on the stall, but now, unfortunately, they remain unsold.

Typical Sant’Erasmo violet artichoke,
the “castraùre”, the first bud.

The fishermen do not react when a seagull helps itself to a precious morsel; it is better that someone makes good use of unsold fish rather than throwing it away.

Moscardini are one of the traditional boiled antipasti of Venice.
They are small octopuses, boiled and garnished with celery and oil and served cut in halves. Obviously, the beaks are removed!

And so, from the market stalls we come to the preparation of this excellent yet simple and tasty dish, polenta and octopus. When the sea and the countryside meet.

It may not be nice to look at, but the grass goby fish is a typical traditional Venetian first course (especially in Burano). After boiling for 25 minutes, it is removed and squeezed in a cloth, and the juice extracted is added to the broth, which is boiled until it becomes a concentrate, to which other fish stock is added...

Eel, or “bisatto grande”, makes a succulent traditional Venetian main course. When grilled, it looks almost like a large steak.

Another main course worthy of the lagunar tradition are small, tender grilled cuttlefish. The best time to find them is in October and November.

VENICE lives on antipasti, especially shellfish and crustaceans.
Here we have clams, mussels, scallops, canestrini and razor shells.... grilled with olive oil and garlic. A delicacy!

There is an entire tradition of boiled antipasti: mantis shrimp, prawns, cuttlefish eggs, sea snails known as garusoli, spider crabs (giant crabs shaped like onions) and musky octopus. Here you see the grey shrimp that are eaten fried or with polenta!

The sardines are of the smaller variety and are either cooked Greek style, with vinegar, or in tomato sauce with capers. There is also the recipe mentioned by Goldoni in his book “Servant of Two Masters” from 1746, featuring sardines prepared with candied citron (imported from Asia), raisins and pine nuts.

Fry the sardines in flour and boiling oil, 14 g of sardines = 1 kg of white onions, cooked very slowly with a dash of vinegar in the saucepan; the onion must become sweet. Cover the sardines with the onions, raisins and pine nuts, and a layer of oil for 3 days.

TYPICAL FISH, DELICIOUS BREADED AND FRIED.
BURANO-STYLE RECIPE: with beaten egg: allow them to absorb the egg while alive, coat them in flour and then fry them in oil.

Here is Marco (my faithful guide, son of Venetian restaurateurs) with a glass of wine and his cousin, who has graciously welcomed us to his “bacaro”. A bacaro (from Bacchus or ‘bacarà’- a racket or party) is a small restaurant where you can drink wine (or now even spritz) and eat a small snack, strictly while standing.

An "ombra de vin" is a tiny glass of wine drunk when it’s time for an aperitif, which for a Venetian can be any time. If you are lucky, you can even find them for one euro each.
It is said that in ancient times, wine was served in Piazza San Marco like sun hats are now sold. The sellers protected themselves from the sun and made sure that the wine remained cool by keeping it in the shadow of the bell tower, hence the name “ombra”.

Here is another, more modern type of Venetian “cicheti”: they are mainly sandwiches, filled with everything you can imagine, for example, mixed boiled meats, mushrooms, shrimps, egg and strictly pink sauce.

Here is a classic traditional dish from Veneto, more typical in the Vicenza area, but the stockfish is worth trying.
(stock = stick and visch = fish), or fish dried on a stick.
It is said to have been imported from the northern seas in around the 15th century by the merchant Pietro Querini.
Dried cod, or stockfish, should be rehydrated for 3 days in running water. It can be boiled or steamed, adding vegetable oil, salt and a little garlic. Those who like it creamier can add milk.

Black spaghetti with cuttlefish, bigoli in sauce (strictly to be eaten during the Feast of the Redeemer), served cold with onions and anchovies, rice and peas, and lagoon goby risotto. These are the main first courses.