Saint Martin's Cake

S. Martin xe 'ndà in sofita a trovar ea nonna Rita nona Rita no ghe gera S.Martin col cùeo par tera. E col nostro sachetìn cari signori xe S.Martin

The Feast of San Martino, or Saint Martin, is celebrated on November 11th in Venice, Italy, and in various other parts of Europe. The feast is often associated with the beginning of winter and the harvest season, particularly the wine harvest.

In Venice, it is a tradition particularly loved by children. Today, the squares and streets come alive with kids banging pots and pans and singing traditional songs dedicated to San Martino. The idea is to make noise to wake Saint Martin up so that he can bring gifts, much like he did in his famous act of charity, where he cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm.

The celebration's highlight is the "Dolce di San Martino," or St. Martin's Cake. This shortcrust pastry cookie or cake shaped like a man on horseback, symbolizing Saint Martin. The cake is decorated with icing, raisins, and sometimes even a layer of liqueur-soaked sponge cake. Bakeries and homes fill with the aroma of these delicious pastries, often given as gifts during this time.

The cake's shape and decoration carry significance and are inspired by the tale of Saint Martin, a soldier who later became a monk and then a bishop. Legend has it that he once cut his cloak in half during a snowstorm to share with a beggar. That very night, he dreamt of Jesus wearing the half-cloak, indicating that his good deed had not gone unnoticed.

The Feast of San Martino in Venice embodies the spirit of sharing and community. It's a wonderful time to explore Venetian traditions, and if you're a fan of photography, the festivities offer a plethora of picturesque moments to capture.

San Martin's short pastry cake

This short pastry cake is made in Venice to celebrate the feast day of Saint Martin, on 11th November every year, and it is a favourite with Venetian children who receive one from their grandparents and parents. The cake is in the shape of Saint Martin on horseback with his sword and, if you come to Venice in that period, you will see it in confectioners’ windows, decorated with sugar icing or coated with plain or milk chocolate and decorated with chocolate drops and candies

Oven-proof paper mould Download it here Prepare the paper mould used to cut out the cake. Cut a sheet of oven-proof paper measuring about 30x40 cm. Draw the shape of Saint Martin on horseback with his sword on the paper, cut it out and set it aside.

Alternatively, in Venice, during the period of the feast day, you can buy the cake mould in shops specialising in household goods.

Ingredients for a “Saint Martin” of 20x30 cm

For the short pastry: 250 gr flour 150 gr butter 100 gr sugar 1 egg yolk + 1 whole egg ½ sachet vanillin or vanilla flavouring

For the icing and decoration: 250 – 300 gr icing sugar 1 egg white 5 drops lemon juice 100 gr mixed sweets: chocolate Smarties, sugar sweets, candies, chocolate drops. Cooking time: 15/20 minutes at 180°C

Preparation

Light the oven.

Prepare the pastry base by putting into a bowl, in this order, the flour, the sugar, the softened butter cut into small pieces, the yolk and the whole egg. Keep the extra egg white to one side in a bowl. Start mixing the ingredients by hand, crushing together the eggs, butter and sugar.

Once they are fairly well mixed, add the flour and vanilla flavouring. Knead the mixture with your fingertips until it is homogeneous as regards both consistency and colour, working into a ball. Sprinkle some flour on a sheet of oven-proof paper and roll out the pastry into a rectangular sheep measuring about 30x40 cm and cut the outline of the cake.

If you like, you can use the trimmings to make a round biscuit. Put the cake in the oven and bake till golden (it will take about 15/20 minutes). When the short pastry is ready, leave it to cool and start to prepare the icing. Put the egg white in a bowl and add the icing sugar, a teaspoonful at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon.

When the first teaspoonful has been absorbed, add the second and so on, until you have added half the sugar. At this point squeeze 5 drops of lemon juice into the icing and keep stirring and adding the icing sugar as before.

At the end, the mixture will be quite thick and you will have to stir it energetically for a minute until it is nice and shiny. Pour the icing into a bag with a medium star-shaped nozzle and start decorating the biscuit. Scatter the biscuit as desired with chocolate drops, sweets or candies. When you have finished decorating it, let the icing “dry” for about 12 hours at room temperature.

An extra idea If you want, you can cover Saint Martin with melted chocolate or colour the icing with food colourings, choose the sweets for decorating it with your children, or change the shape of the cake, for example, making biscuits with a hole at the top that you can decorate and hang on the Christmas tree.

Baccalà Mantecato Recipe

  baccalà mantecato is one of the signature dishes of Venetian cuisine and a staple of those wonderful hidden-away Venetian bacari, or wine bars.

The name of the dish comes from the verb mantecare, which is a culinary term meaning to 'beat' or 'whip' or simply to 'stir vigorously' so as to create a creamy consistency. It is the same word used to describe the final stage of making a risotto, when you stir the rice vigorously to incorporate grated cheese and butter, to creating that luscious creamy consistency that we all know and love. The technique serves the same purpose here, but in a wholly different context.

Baccalà Mantecato 

250gr salt cod, rehydrated. I think this involves a lot of soaking and changing of water over several days – we bought ours already soaked. A pinch of salt – the salt cod once soaked isn’t super salty 1 fat clove of garlic A handful of parsley 2 tbsp milk A squeeze of lemon juice

Oil, for emulsifying (we used vegetable as that’s what we had to hand; groundnut would also work but don’t, whatever you do, use extra virgin olive oil as it will overwhelm the cod)

Simmer the cod in water for 5 minutes, then leave to cool. While warm, break into pieces as small as possible.

In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and parsley into a paste. Add the cod and mix vigorously. Roll back your sleeves and get pounding and smooshing as someone else dribbles the oil in, until you get a thick, smooth paste. It needs quite a bit of oil. Add just a squeeze of lemon juice, then loosen with the milk – add on tbsp at a time until it is incorporated – if you feel it’s necessary. Serve with toasted bread.

Seppie (Sepe) in Umido alla Veneziana (Black Cuttlefish Venetian Style)

I saw a video yesterday by Cesare Colonnese about the Seppie in Umido and decided to prepare them today for lunch so went to Rialto market to get fresh Cuttlefish (Seppie)

This requires fresh cuttlefish, because you will need the contents of one or two ink sacks. It makes an excellent one-course meal if served with either fresh polenta, which is the traditional Venetian accompaniment, or a simple risotto in bianco

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) medium-sized cuttlefish, with their ink sacks
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 medium onion, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley
• 1 cup (250 ml) dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 cup (250 ml) hot broth or bouillon
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Clean the cuttlefish, setting aside two ink sacks. Wash the cuttlefish well, cut the bodies into thin rings, and chop the tentacles. Set a pot on the fire and sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil, over a brisk flame. When the onion is lightly browned remove and discard the garlic, then add the cuttlefish to the pot, salt them lightly, and stir in the parsley Continue sautéing for ten minutes, stirring all the while, then add the wine and bring the mixture to a simmer. Remove the ink from the sacks to a bowl, and add it to the cuttlefish according to your taste – in other words, if you want a very dark dish add all the ink. Stir in the tomato paste as well, and continue simmering over a low flame until the cuttlefish is fork tender (45-50 minutes), adding the hot broth as need be to replace the liquid that evaporates. Check seasoning and serve, in an elegant pre-heated dish.

Bigoli in Salsa

For this dish, the pasta is all important. Originally made with duck eggs and buckwheat flour (these days, wholewheat flour and chicken eggs), Why is the pasta so important? Every pasta in Italy is shaped to serve a purpose, and in this case the pasta has a spaghetti-like length and shape, but with a coarse rather than smooth exterior. The texture of this pasta allows more sauce to ‘stick’ to the pasta, so the pasta is generally used when you have a pasta sauce with a gravy-like consistency. The following recipe come from Vini da Gigio ....but this is another story....

Ingredients (serves 2) 250g Bigoli pasta 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 8 anchovy fillets or Sarde 1 medium red onion, chopped finely 1 good bunch of Italian parsley, chopped finely Salt and pepper

Directions 1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil for the pasta. Add a tablespoon of good salt. 2. In a large sauté pan over low-medium heat, add the olive oil, the anchovies and the onion. 3. Stir the mix, helping to break down the anchovies. This should take around 10 minutes. 4. When you have a thick gravy, the sauce is ready, so put your pasta on. 5. When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce. Mix through most of the parsley and serve. Add a little parsley on top to make it pretty. Season and add more olive oil if you wish and enjoy with a medium to full bodied white wine.

Fegato alla Veneziana (Venetian Liver and Onions)

Fegato alla Veneziana, finely sliced liver with gently stewed onions, is one of the most classic Venetian dishes, and even those who do not usually like liver enjoy it. The recipe will serve 2 Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 1/2 white onions, sliced

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled

• 1 teaspoon rubbed or ground dried sage

• 1 garlic clove, flattened

• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

• Salt and pepper

• 1 12-ounce, 1/4- 1/2-inch-thick calf's liver, cut into strips

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 1/2 teaspoon sage and sauté until onion is tender and brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Discard garlic.

Combine flour, remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme and remaining 1/2 teaspoon sage in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pat liver dry. Add liver to flour mixture and toss to coat. Add butter to garlic oil and melt over medium-high heat. Add liver and stir until beginning to brown on outside but still pink inside, about 3 minutes. Add onions and sauté until liver is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley

Venice Spritz Recipe

Spritz is the Venetian drink or Aperitif and once you have tried you will most likely become an adept! One of the best recipe is printed on the canvas bags or t shirts  made by women in Venetian prison – They have stalls around twon and one shop in Cannaregio or you can find them here http://www.rioteradeipensieri.org

Spritz recipe INGREDIENTS: 1 part white wine 1 part Aperol (medium sweet) or Select or Campari or San Bitter or Cynar (Very bitter) 1 part seltzer/sparkling water a little ice,an olive, and a slice of orange / lemon

The origins of this drink are not known but it is widely believed that the Spritz was born during the 19th century Austrian occupation of Italy. Its name, in fact, may derive from the German verb spritzen meaning “to spray” or might be linked to the name of specific Austrian wines of the western region of Wachau. German soldiers soon got used to drinking local Venetian wines at the many taverns, but the alcohol content, so much higher than the beer they would drink back home, made them dilute it with water. Thus was born the “straight” Spritz!

But the Spritz isn’t only an Italian phenomenon. Recently, both the Spritz and Aperol are starting to take hold in many different countries, including the US. For example, in the smash hit “Meet the Parents” starring Robert de Niro, Barbra Streisand, and Dustin Hoffman, the latter offers De Niro an Italian Spritz instead of his usual Tom Collins.

Carletti Risotto

MAKE THE STOCK: In a large saucepan, combine the water with the onion, carrots, leek, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and cloves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderate, cover and simmer for 50 minutes. Strain the stock into a medium saucepan, cover and keep warm.

MAKE THE RISOTTO: In a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add half of the minced shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carletti a handful at a time, stirring between batches until wilted. Season the baby greens with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the vegetable oil. Add the remaining shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook over moderately high heat, stirring to coat the grains, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the warm stock and cook, stirring constantly, until nearly absorbed. Continue adding the stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is nearly absorbed between additions. The risotto is done when the rice is al dente and suspended in a thick, creamy sauce, about 25 minutes total.

Stir the wilted greens and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into the risotto and season with salt and pepper. Serve at once, passing the cheese at the table.

Risotto di bruscandoli - Hop Shoots Risotto

This is a very old recipe from the Venetian countryside! “Bruscandoli” are the end tips of the hop plants. This plant can be found easily in the Venetian countryside. This risotto can only be made during April since this is the time when the hop shoots. During the month of April the vegetable stalls of Rialto Bridge are full of these plants.

This is a very old recipe from the Venetian countryside (feel free to substitute the shoots with any other sort of root or shoot you like).

Ingredients: a big bunch of bruscandoli (hop shoots) about 300 gr, 300 gr. Rice Vialone Nano or Arborio, ½ an onion, 1 lt. Broth, a bit of butter, 1/2/ glass of wine, olive oil.

First of all rinse and chop in small pieces the hop shoots. Then sauté for few minutes in a large pan with a little bit of oil. Remove from eat.

Now place the butter in a sauce pan and melt it. Add the rice, sauté for a minute, add the wine and sauté then add the shoots and a bit of the broth. Stir and slowly start adding the the broth waiting every time for it to be absorbed by the rice. Keep stirring the rice until it is cooked through. Turn the heat off, add a little bit of butter and a good spoonful of parmisan.

Serve hot. This risotto must not be dry, but at the contrary quite smooth

Venetian Fritole Recipe

These Frittole, Fritole or fritters are a speciality of the Veneto during Carnevale. Be warned, they are addictive! An alternative to cooking them at home...if you are in Venice is here!

Between Candlemas (2nd of February) and Martedí Grasso (Fat Tuesday) the Venetians celebrate Carnevale. The festivities are not the drunken bashes associated with Mardi Gras. The focus is on the beautiful costumes that recall the history of Venice. There are many costumes that would be considered performance art.

This is one of my favourite dolci recipes. The fritole are much more than a donut or a simple fritter.

Venetian Frittole RecipeIngredients

• 1 1/4 cups + 2/3 cup milk
• l tsp salt
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 ounce yeast (1-1/2 cakes)
• 1 tsp + 1 pinch sugar
• 3 1/2 cups flour, sifted
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup grappa (substitute rum if necessary)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/3 cup raisins
• cooking oil for deep frying
• powdered sugar

Directions

1. Soak the raisins in the grappa.
2. Break up the yeast in the 1/4 cup lukewarm water in a small bowl. Add a pinch of sugar and set aside. If the yeast is fresh, bubbles should begin to form immediately.
3. Put the sifted flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix in 1 1/4 cups milk.
4. Add the egg and mix well.
5. While stirring, add the yeast-water mixture and an additional 2/3 cup milk.
6. Continue stirring until smooth. This should be a very thick, doughy batter.
7. Bubbles will start to form within the batter.
8. Add the raisins, pine seeds, and remaining grappa and mix well.
9. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place it in a warm, draft free spot.
10. Allow the batter to rise for about 3 hours.
11. Fill a deep fryer or a saucepan half full of good cooking oil. Heat the oil to 375F.
12. Wet a tablespoon with cold water. Scoop up the batter, and with a moistened a thumb, push the batter off the spoon into the hot oil (Be careful of the oil. By dropping the batter in close to the surface you will prevent splashing.)
13. Repeat with 4 or 5 more spoonfuls of batter. Cook the fritter until it has an even deep golden brown color, turning it once or twice during cooking. The fritters should not be too big.
14. Remove the fritters from the oil and drain on a paper towel. Cut open this test fritter to make sure that it is cooked through. If so, proceed as described above for the remaining batter, cooking 4 or 5 fritters at a time.
15. When the fritters have cooled, roll them in powdered sugar and place on a platter.

Roasted Radicchio

Radicchio is an Italian salad plant related to chicory. The distinctive plant grows in a rich maroon color with white veins and has a peppery flavor that adds a textural bite to salads. It is typical of the area around  Venice. There are few varieties.

Radicchio is sometimes grilled or roasted, making a pleasant counterpoint to other grilled vegetables. It is growing in popularity and can be found in most produce sections. Radicchio has been in cultivation in the Mediterranean for hundreds of years and is used in a variety of Mediterranean dishes.

Radicchio resembles lettuce most in appearance, although it is not in the lettuce family. It forms tight heads of leaves furled around a central core and grows low to the ground. Radicchio makes a startling splash of colour in the garden, and its natural bitterness makes it less subject to depredation by garden pests.

Ingredients

1. 3 large heads of radicchio (about 3/4 pound each), cored and each cut into 8 wedges
2. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3. Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 500°. Lay the radicchio wedges on a large rimmed baking sheet and brush with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until crisp around the edges and just tender. Serve at once.

Venice Frittelle (Frittole)

Ok Ok I know Christmas and New Year are still here, but we have to think ahead and ahead in sweets terms means: Frittelle…Frittole..Fritoe, or fritters, are the most famous dolci or sweets of  Venice during the Carnival Season.

Frittelle begin showing up in pastry shops, Cafes and  bakeries, mid January and  during the weeks leading up to il Carnevale di Venezia. When Carnival is over, frittelle disappear from the store windows almost as quickly as tourists in masks.

Frittelle come in a variety of styles, both filled and unfilled, the available choices usually include:

Frittelle veneziane. No filling, but with raisins and pine nuts mixed into the fairly heavy dough. After frying, the frittelle are rolled in granulated sugar.

Frittelle con crema chantilly. Filled with a light vanilla-flavored pastry cream and rolled in granulated sugar.

Frittelle con cioccolata. Filled with a mild chocolate-flavoured pastry cream and rolled in granulated sugar.

Frittelle con zabaione. Filled with a Marsala-flavored pastry cream and rolled in granulated sugar.

The most famous and renowned places where to get the Frittelle (and my votes) are:

• Pasticceria Tonolo: Contrada San pantalon in Dorsoduro 10/10
• Pasticceria Didovitch: Campo Santa Marina     9/10
• Pasticceria Bonifacio Calle degli Albanesi San Marco 4/10 (uncooked)
• Panifico Fornareto Calle del Forner Cannaregio  8/10
• Coffe Pasticceria Pitteri Strada Nuova Cannaregio  9/10 but poor Cappuccino!
• Dal Mas  Cannaregio Rio Terà Lista de Spagna, 150  8/10
• Rosa Salva  (5/10)

The worst Frittelle (IMHO)

• Majer (San Giacomo dell’Orio) : just one word Terrible!!!

Last year prices were around 1.00 and 1.30 Euro each  but I have seen also a few outrageous 1.50

Saffron Buns

This blog is about Venice and Photography not Scandinavia....but I think that due to the connection between St Lucy and Venice this recipe is a must!

The secret to making these mildly sweet pastries—based on a recipe given to us by Gunilla von Heland, a food editor in Stockholm—is to steep the saffron in hot milk before incorporating it.

 

MAKES 32 BUNS

INGREDIENTS

2 1?4-oz. packages active dry yeast 2 cups milk, heated to 115° 2 tsp. saffron, lightly crushed 3?4 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar 6 1?2 cups flour 3?4 tsp. kosher salt 3 eggs 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1?2" cubes, softened Canola oil, for greasing 64 raisins, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix together yeast, milk, saffron, and 1 tsp. sugar; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining sugar, along with the flour, salt, and 2 eggs. Mix on low speed until dough forms and gathers around the paddle. Replace paddle with dough hook and add butter; knead on medium-high speed until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, 8 minutes. Transfer dough to a large bowl greased with oil and cover with plastic wrap; let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 hour.

2. Divide dough into 32 pieces and roll each piece into an 8"-long rope. Form each rope into an S shape and then roll each end into a tight spiral.  Place shaped dough pieces 2" apart on parchment paper–lined baking sheets; cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

3. Heat oven to 400°. Uncover the dough pieces and place a raisin at the center of each of the spirals. Lightly beat remaining egg with 1 tbsp. water and brush each bun with egg mixture. Bake until buns are golden brown and cooked through, 16 minutes. Transfer buns to a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Castradina

The “castradina” is a stew, real comfort food, and is a traditional recipe that traces its roots in Dalmatia, where the dried, smoked mutton aromatized with herbs and spices came from. At a time when food deteriorated easily and could carry diseases, the “castrà” (a leg of castrated lamb) was a guarantee. This delicacy has to be prepared 2 days in advance and the “castrà” is available in the best butchers a week before the feast of Madonna della Salute. INGREDIENTS: CABBAGE CASTRA’ ONIONS, CARROTS ROSEMARY, THYME, LAUREL AND JUNIPER IN A GAUZE BAG EXTRA VERGIN OLIVE OIL

Thinly chop the carrots and the onions and stir-fry in olive oil. Add the cabbage slices into thin strips and simmer in low heat in little water (keep adding water when needed) with olive oil until soft. Bring to a boil the castrà in water with the herbs, let it simmer for about half an hour, then remove from heat, throw away the water where the castrà has been cooking, and complete the cooking in renewed water (otherwise it gets too salty). Put both the cabbage and the meat aside, somewhere cool. The next day, skim off the layer of grease, add the cabbage and simmer for an hour approximately. Serve it as a hot stew or a soup.

Rosemary (Colours of the lagoon)

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region. The name "rosemary" derives from the Latin name rosmarinus, which is from "dew" (ros) and "sea" (marinus), or "dew of the sea" because in many locations it needs no other water than the humidity carried by the sea breeze to live.

Rosemary plant growing  on the Island of Santa Cristina

Baked Mackerel with Rosemary

The ingredients for two people are: 2 mackerels  1 garlic clove, 1 lemon, and 2 big fresh rosemary branches.

Cut the lemon in half, thinly slice the garlic and wash the rosemary branches.Now you need to clean the mackerels: You can cut the belly such that you can remove the entrails. Wash the fish well removing all the remains of the entrails otherwise the meat could get an unpleasant sour taste.

Once they have been rinsed, dry them well outside and inside so that there is no water left. Then  place some garlic slices and one rosemary branch inside the mackerel’s belly cavity.

Make two rectangles of aluminium foil and place the fish on one of them,  squeeze the lemon juice inside and on the mackerel, then folds the foil over the fish.

Lastly, bake the fish at 200 °C (390 °F) for 20-25 minutes.