QUALITALY_128

April/May 202 2 XV MAGAZINE merchant returned from Norway with a large cargo of this dried fish. The Venetians, ever a far-sighted people, open to new ideas, immediately saw in cod an interesting alternative to fresh, expensive and easily perishable fish. There are many recipes for cod, but the well-known one is baccalà alla vicentina. As in all Italian homes, the task of rounding off any meal is the dessert, and in this wonderful land of sea and mountains, there are many desserts. Dry prevails over creamy. Fregolotta, very similar to the Mantuan sbrisolona, is the most widely prepared cake in the Padua and Treviso areas. The ingredients are flour, ground almonds, sugar, vanilla and butter: a shortcrust pastry dough which is mixed thoroughly to make it all crumble and then recompacted in a very low baking tin. It is an exquisite dessert, even when drowned in blueberry jam. The ‘pan de or’ that today we all call pandoro and eat especially at Christmas was born in Verona on 14 October 1894, when the confectioner Domenico Melegatti registered his patent. In the past it was served on the tables of rich Venetians together with nadalin ( another typical Veronese cake ), invented at the end of the 13th century to celebrate the first Christmas, after the investiture of the Della Scala nobles who had become the Lords of Verona. If you are in Venice for Carnival, you must treat yourself to Fritoe or Fritole, the national dessert of Venice. These are polenta fritters, with sultanas, pine nuts, cinnamon, grated orange and lemon peel and grappa; they are fried in extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with icing sugar. Like pandoro , tiramisu needs no introduction. It originated around 40 years ago in the Treviso area and is now famous and reproduced throughout the country. It is a spoon dessert made with sponge fingers soaked in coffee and covered with a cream made of mascarpone cheese, eggs and sugar. Many people flavour it with liqueur. Other desserts to taste in the Veneto provinces are Bruti ma buoni , Mandorlato and Marsapan . Products NANO VIALONE VERONESE PGI RICE Its production area covers 25 municipalities in the province of Verona. Rice paddies cannot produce for more than six consecutive years on the same plot and must wait at least two years before restarting the production cycle. Sowing takes place at the end of April and water is pumped into the fields where the seeds germinate by immersion. The plant’s growing cycle is 155 days and harvesting takes place more or less in early autumn, when the rice has reached the right maturity. Drying is important to avoid leaving combustion residues or unpleasant odours on the glumes. After the grains have been freed from their outer layers, they are bleached and sorted before being packaged. Riso Nano Vialone Veronese PGI should be stored in a cool, dry place. Great chefs consider it to be one of the best rice varieties in the world for its organoleptic qualities, its cooking resistance and its versatility in the kitchen. It is particularly suitable for the preparation of whipped and drained risottos, soups, salads and desserts. THE LATE GROWING RED RADICCHIO OF TREVISO. Red radicchio of Treviso belongs to the chicory family. Its colour is deep dark red with white streaks. It has a crunchy texture and a slightly bitter taste. There are two variants: early and late. Early red radicchio of Treviso is less valuable, has a wider leaf and a more bitter taste. It is grown in open fields and after the summer, the heads are tied to continue ripening and forced bleaching. The late red of Treviso is more prized due to the complexity of the production process. It has long, tapered leaves with a white central rib and leaves of an intense purplish-red colour. It can only be harvested from the open field after the plants have undergone two frosts. As soon as it has been harvested with its root, it is tied in bunches and immersed in pools of water with a mild temperature, which is constantly between 12 and 15 degrees, for the whitening phase, and allows the resumption of the vegetative process. After a forced period in the water, between 15 and 20 days, the late-growing red radicchio di Treviso PGI is ready for final grooming..