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.

Foods to Eat in Italy - Venice

- Sarde in Saor - 

Sarde in Saor is a typical Venetian dish found in most osteria (small taverns) and bacari (a mix between a gastrobar and a wine bar), served as either an appetizer or a bar snack. It consists of fried sardines marinated in onions, raisins, vinegar and pine nuts, a good example of a typical Italian agrodolce dish. This refers to any dish that has a sauce that is both sweet and sour, and in this case, is produced by the raisins and vinegar respectively. You will find that agrodolce is very prevalent in Italian food but also found in cuisines the world over such as the gastrique used in French cooking or even 糖醋酱 (sweet and sour sauce) used in Chinese cooking.

Sarde in Saor came about because of the need for Venetian fishermen to keep fish fresh for extended periods of time whilst at sea and originally only consisted of sardines (or any fish) layered in oil, cooked onions and vinegar. It was not until the Renaissance period where raisins and pine nuts were also added which turned it from a simple way of preserving fish to a fully fledged dish.

Foods to Eat in Spain - Madrid

- Besugo a la Madrileña -

Besugo a la Madrileña is a dish well associated with Madrid, which is a bit perplexing as Madrid, being far away from the coast (practically in the middle of Spain), should not really have any seafood dishes of note historically. The reason for this is because in 1739, Manuel de Herrera managed to secure a permit for the transportation of fresh fish from coastal ports (such as Santander, Vasco de Bermeo etc.) to Madrid. Even today, his legacy remains in the form of the organisation Mercamadrid, that ensures for a reliable and efficient transport network to and from Madrid.