“Eating in Italy is one more manifestation of the Italian’s age-old gift of making art out of life.”
—MARCELLA HAZAN, The Classic Italian Cook Book
MARCELLA HAZAN, THE QUEEN OF ITALIAN CUISINE, wrote inspiring, award-winning cookbooks. I will always treasure the phone conversation we had while I was writing the first edition of this book, from her home where she spent her final years, in Longboat Key, Florida. Marcella and her husband Victor had lived and taught cooking classes in Venice in the 1980s and ‘90s, and she was passionate about sharing her thoughts with me about her beloved Serenissima. Sadly, Marcella passed away in 2013, but her advice about enjoying the food there is timeless.
“Order canocchie,” she told me, “It’s a type of spider shrimp that you can only find in Venice and Japan. It’s very soft, very sweet, very delicate.” She also recommended moleche (soft shell crab) when it’s in season, which is usually April and November. Then there is sole: “For Americans, Maine has the lobster, but Venice has the sole,” she said. It’s much smaller than American sole and served as sole in saor, where the fried fish is put in a sauce with vinegar, pine nuts, and raisins.
As far as shopping for food at the Rialto Market, she sighed, “I’d like to shop there every day of my life.” And, “You should notice how each item is marked to tell where it came from. What’s local is more expensive than what’s imported, like asparagus from Sant’Erasmo or fish marked nostrane. It’s the freshness that costs much more,” she explained. “Salmon is cheaper, it’s not Italian.”
When it came to restaurant recommendations, she named two classics, listed below, where you’ll be treated to excellent renditions of Venetian specialties. If you mention “Victor and Marcella Hazan sent me” to the owners, they will give you a warm welcome.
The woman whose voice that came across so strict and uncompromising through the pages of her cookbooks, got soft and nostalgic talking about Venice: “Every corner you turn is unbelievable. Have you ever seen it in the snow? It looks like embroidery on the Ca’ d’Oro, like it came from Burano. And the light…the fog…when you can see Venice coming out little by little and you wait and it is coming to life…Venice…”
Places to say “Marcella sent me…” Reservations Essential:
RECOMMENDED READING
All Marcella Hazan’s cookbooks and Amarcord: Marcella Remembers