Foods to Eat in Italy - Venice
- Baccalà Mantecato -
Baccalà Mantecato, otherwise known as creamed codfish, is a traditional and popular Venetian dish eaten as an antipasto, cicchetti or even as a sandwich filling. Baccalà, meaning dried cod, was introduced to the Venetian people by Querini in the 15th Century. A captain that sailed the world but alas, disaster struck and he was shipwrecked in Norway, however, every cloud has a silver lining. In this case, he discovered the Nordic way of preserving fish and brought it back to Venice whereby it quickly became a household favourite. Nowadays, there are more than 40 Baccalà recipes, with Baccalà Mantecato being the most well-known one.
Baccalà Mantecato is prepared by first soaking the codfish in water for at least 2 days, then poached and the bone and skin removed. Finally, it is blended (or traditionally, whipped) with olive oil, garlic, parsley and salt to reach a consistency akin to a fine mousse. It is then served with toasted bread, croutons or more traditionally, grilled polenta, which is another Venetian staple.