Restaurant Recipe Reviews

With so many different Italian food dishes it is hard to pick a favorite. However, for those who like risotto, Veneto is the region for you! Italian food varies greatly by region with each area presenting their own unique dishes and flavors.

Besides pasta, risotto is the most universally known and celebrated of Italian food dishes. For those wanting some truly great Italian food, Veneto is a must visit.

A rice dish prepared in a specific way (we’ll cover that in a minute), it is one of the more popular Italian food dishes and is a staple of restaurants specializing in Italian food. To properly make a risotto, the rice must be first cooked quickly in butter or olive oil.

The rice must be coated evenly in the butter oil, and toasted just until translucent. Broth is then added just a little at a time, the idea is to slowly saturate the rice with the broth, which helps it achieve it’s distinctive “risotto” texture. Unless the rice is toasted, it’s not risotto. Even if it’s served at the finest of Italian food restaurants, it just isn’t the same unless toasted.

There are many different variations on risotto because it can be made and served with so many different Italian food favorites. In Veneto the ingredients added to the risotto are determined by location. For instance, in areas closer to the coast it will be made with fish and other seafood.

You will find all manner of ingredients in a risotto when you’re in Veneto. For instance, asparagus and pumpkin, even frogs’ legs. That’s right, frogs’ legs; though usually associated with French cuisine, it is common in some parts of Italy as well.

Italian food differs from the stereotype held by many; this is doubly true in the Veneto region, which features some wonderful dishes not found elsewhere in the country. Pasta and beans, for instance is a very popular dish in Veneto and is turning up at more and more Italian restaurants all the time.

This is also an area of Italy where anchovies and stockfish are used extensively in Italian food. However, fish is not the dish of choice here, being beaten out by meats and sausages. A favorite meat is sopressata which is a dry-cured salami. It gets its name from the fact that while drying it is often pressed with a weight and comes out looking flat.

Most commonly, sopressata is pork based, but beef variations exist as well. Garlic salami is another local favorite. The Italian food found in Veneto includes quite a lot of the local produce specialties; these include radicchio and their famed asparagus, along with young tender peas, paired with rice. This is an Italian food dish unique to Veneto.

The Italian food of Veneto clearly breaks the mold. It is full of diversity from dishes made wholly with vegetables and rice, to some of the most famous sausages in the world. If a night of Italian food for you must include risotto, than Veneto is the place to be. If you consider yourself a sausage connoisseur than the Italian food of Veneto will again be a must taste for you. The region truly offers something for everyone!

Check out these great shrimp risotto recipes and tips on how to prepare all types of seafood at http://www.weloveseafood.com