Roast Squash & Tomato Soup
This is essentially a Sophie Grigson recipe from her Organic book (though my version here is more a case of throwing the basic ingredients together – remembered from memory – rather following her recipe carefully). It’s been a favourite for years. My daughter Nicola discovered it in the book and once she’d cooked it for me, there was no turning back from this rising to the ‘favourite soups’ category in the family. Significantly, Sophie suggests using ‘winter squash’. ‘Significantly’ because, yes, it is May. But the weather gods don’t seem to know that; it’s cold, wet and dismally grey. So what better way to warm and brighten up the day than a bowl of this delicious, earthy and wonderfully sunny-looking soup for lunch.
I’ve always made the soup with butternut squash before but there was no sign of one in Waitrose this morning, so I came home with a gloriously bright and cheerful onion squash. I thought it might be hard to peel – peeling any large squash or marrow is fairly challenging – but it turned out to be quite easy with the aid of my nice big and sharp chef’s knife.
There’s nothing refined in the way I cook this. You could of course peel the tomatoes (I did cut out the woody stalk ends); you could even strain it all at the end for a smoother effect. But I’m more a rustic kind of soup person and the aim was only to provide something hot and delicious for a quick and simple lunch.
My onion squash weighed just over 1kg. Carefully hold it and slice downwards with a sharp knife to skin; turning it up the other way to do the other side. Remove the seeds. (They looked so good I felt I should look up ‘how to dry your own pumpkin seeds’ but then decided life was too short … or at least, it was today.) Cut into large chunks and put in an ovenproof dish with the following: 3 largish tomatoes, quartered (I know, there are 4 in the photo, but by the time I’d chopped them and added them, I decided 3 was enough), 2 small red onions, quartered; and 2 cloves garlic, peeled. Pour over a good amount of olive oil to well coat the vegetables and toss gently by hand. Then season well with some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lay a large stalk of fresh rosemary and a few sprigs of fresh thyme on top. At this point I had a sudden urge to scatter in some dried red chilli flakes too.
Put into a 180 Fan/200 C oven for about 40 minutes, turning the vegetables gently halfway through so the edges don’t get burned. Once the squash is tender when you pierce with a fork, take out. Pick out the woody rosemary and thyme stalks.
Transfer the vegetables to a large saucepan and then pour in enough hot stock or water to almost cover. Whisk up with a hand blender, check seasoning – and viola! A gorgeous and warming lunch. I had mine with some olive fougasse I’d bought in Paul this morning and a nice bit of French cheese I’d got out of the fridge earlier. It took me under an hour from start to serving bowl to make this – and most of the time I just left it doing its stuff in the oven. I also have a few portions to freeze for another day.
Top Ten Cookery Books: Eric Guignard
I’ve been hearing good things about The French Table in leafy Surbiton for some time. From enthusiastic words about the restaurant from various people to my friend Jane telling me she’d stumbled by chance upon a wonderful cafe/bakery in Surbiton called The French Tarte that she thought The Single Gourmet Traveller should check out. When I checked it out online, I saw it was attached to this restaurant everyone was telling me I should visit. So, today, that’s where I went – to talk to Chef/Restaurateur Eric Guignard who runs The French Table with his wife, Sarah.
Since The French Table opened in 2001 it has received much acclaim: nominated ‘Best Local Restaurant’ by Timeout in 2002, getting to the finals of Gordon Ramsay’s F Word in 2009 as ‘Best Local French Restaurant’ and then Winner of Best London Restaurant in The Good Food Guide 2010.
Before opening The French Table, Eric enjoyed a career working in various parts of the world, including a number of Michelin starred restaurants. I asked him when he knew he wanted to be a chef; whether it was in his family. No, he said; none of his family are chefs, but he remembered spending time with his grandfather when he was small and living in France, where he was born, and helping to look after the rabbits and chickens – and learning how to butcher them. He said his parents worked hard and were often home late so he took to exploring the kitchen and teaching himself to cook. He was nine, he told me, when he decided to be a chef; he just knew it was what he wanted to do. I told him some of the other chefs I’ve interviewed have told me similar stories – almost a sense of realising very young that they were born to be chefs and there was never any doubt that that’s what they wanted to do.
At 16, Eric started his first job in a kitchen. It was very hard work, he said, and you only got one day off; you either survive or very quickly give up. From there he became a chef in the army when he did his year’s national service (compulsory in France) and then moved to Paris. He found a job in a good restaurant on the Ile St Louis where he learnt a lot but he was determined to find work in a Michelin-starred restaurant. After 16 months he moved to the Jules Verne restaurant on the Eiffel Tower where he stayed for two years. This was followed by a number of jobs in other Michelin-starred restaurants before working in the USA, then in Venice on the Orient Express and the Hotel Kempinski in Berlin.
Between 1995 and 1997, Eric worked at the Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge, the only privately owned hotel with a Michelin star. Around this time he met his wife Sarah and then worked at The White Onion in Islington until the couple opened The French Table in 2001. I’ve already mentioned the success the restaurant has enjoyed, but Eric and Sarah also run cookery classes from the restaurant’s kitchen on some Saturday mornings and Eric’s passion for baking led them to open The French Tarte next door just over a year ago. Here, apart from wonderful breads they make, you can buy delicious cakes, pastries and quiches, either to eat in or take out.
When we got to talking about books, Eric said he was always buying cookery books – some every week. He doesn’t so much use the recipes as find that looking through can inspire him to come up with new ideas.
1. Alain Ducasse: Eric said Ducasse was without doubt his favourite chef and his books, like Grand Livre de Cuisine, were great but perhaps more for professionals as the recipes were complex.
2. Michel & Albert Roux: The Roux Brothers on Patisserie – Eric said that, pastry-wise, the Roux brothers’ recipes were sound and always good. This book is a great base for classic recipes.
3. Auguste Escoffier: The Escoffier Cookbook: Guide to the Fine Art of French Cuisine - A classic.
4. Anne Willan: La Varenne Cookbook – La Varenne is a cookery school in Paris and Eric said its cookbook is a great one for basics and is available in French and English – which is often helpful.
5. Saveur Magazine – Eric said this was a great French food magazine that contains loads of ideas and he finds it useful to look through this for inspiration.
At this point we briefly moved off books to talk about the kind of cooking Eric does at home. For a chef who has travelled so much, I thought he’d have diverse culinary interests and indeed he does. He said in terms of French cooking, nothing for him can beat a good roasted chicken with lots of garlic and potatoes or a steak. But he loves to make Indian curries; often makes pizzas with his sons (7 and 8) and also stir fries – especially with prawns which are a great favourite.
6. Anne-Sophie Pic - Pic is a 3-Michelin starred chef with a restaurant in Valence who has written a number of books that Eric recommends.
7. Anne Willan: La France Gastronomique – a great reference book that divides France into regions so excellent for looking up classic recipes.
8. Joel Robuchon – Eric thinks Robuchon’s L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon is one of the best restaurants in London. He’s written a number of books that Eric would recommend.
9. Champignon Sauvage Cookbook: Champignon Sauvage is a restaurant in Cheltenham and Eric said he liked their cookbook a lot.
10. La Maison Keyser is a prestigious bakery in Paris. Eric, having talked about his passion for baking and making bread, was inevitably going to choose a book on baking – and this is it.
I really enjoyed talking with Eric and must head back to this pretty road in Surbiton soon to eat at the restaurant. Meanwhile, I couldn’t resist heading back into the bakery after our meeting to buy a loaf I’d seen when I arrived – a chorizo loaf. The smell was divine and it made a wonderful quick lunch with its nice chunks of chorizo inside with some olive oil and salad.
Asparagus & Baby Broad Bean Carbonara
This dish was inspired by a similar carbonara that my friend Annie had at the Pane Vino & San Daniele wine bar when we were in Venice last Wednesday. This supper was definitely a case of bringing a little of Venice and the sun home to a wet April in London – even though today has been slightly better, I see in the news it’s been the wettest April in 100 years! Last week we were sitting outside in the lovely sunny and peaceful Campo dell’Angelo Rafael and the wine bar is just the perfect place to sit over a leisurely lunch in Venice.
With asparagus in the shops now, I thought I’d try to recreate the dish Annie had. I didn’t manage to get fresh broad beans, unfortunately, but had some baby broad beans in the freezer which I briefly boiled in salted water and then podded. They weren’t ‘baby’ enough to be good enough with their pods left on, especially as I wanted a fresh, spring effect to the dish.
I decided to adapt a well-used Jamie Oliver carbonara recipe from his Happy Days with the Naked Chef, but substituting the asparagus and broad beans for pancetta (or bacon). It’s the easiest recipe and really wonderful and I served this version with a simple green salad of torn ice gem lettuce leaves with a handful of parsley, straight from the garden and roughly chopped, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and some salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Asparagus & Baby Broad Bean Carbonara
This is the amount I used for one; double, triple or whatever, for more. Measure out 75-100g linguine or spaghetti and boil in salted water according to directions on packet. Meanwhile, chop about 125g asparagus into roughly 2-3 cm pieces, keeping the tender tips whole. Keep the tips aside and put the other pieces into a pan of salted boiling water and cook for just a couple of minutes, then add the tips and allow to boil for another minute, then drain. You only want to blanch the asparagus. Meanwhile, boil a handful of baby broad beans in another pan for a couple of minutes, drain and when cool enough to handle (or run under cold tap), squeeze them gently and they should pop easily out of the hard chewy pods leaving just the bright green and tender beans.
Heat about 25g butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan and gently fry the asparagus pieces to slightly brown. In a bowl put 1 egg yolk, 2 tablespoons double cream and some Parmesan cheese – grate 25g of the cheese but keep a couple of tablespoons back to scatter over the finished dish. Mix the egg yolk, cream and Parmesan together with some salt and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and immediately turn into the pan with the asparagus, broad beans and egg mixture and fold it all in together quickly while the pasta is hot – this will cook the eggs (though I guess I should issue a warning here to pregnant women to make sure their egg is cooked properly!). Serve immediately and scatter over a little extra Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.
I don’t think I tasted Annie’s carbonara in Venice last week to compare, but this version most definitely turned out well and although quite rich with the cream and cheese nevertheless had a lovely spring freshness to it with the vegetables and crisp green side salad.
I went to Petersham Nurseries last December, just a few weeks before Skye Gyngell left, and wrote about the great lunch I had there. I’ve not managed to get back since new head chef Greg Malouf started at Easter but the Nurseries kindly arranged for a copy of Greg’s latest book to come my way to review here. And wow, what a fantastic book this is. It is also huge. And while it has a bit of a ‘coffee table’ look about it, because it’s so large and with a stylish design to the way the recipes are laid out and gorgeous photos, it leaves most ‘coffee table’ books way behind in its practicality. This is a book to be used. I don’t think it quite shows in the photo I took, but as I read through it, I added a large number of those little stickers – of which I’m so fond when it comes to cookery books – highlighting recipes I’m keen to try out.
Greg has written the book with his former wife, Lucy, a food writer and editor. They’ve written five earlier books and some of the best recipes from those are included here with new ones. Greg’s background is Lebanese-Australian, and it’s in Australia he made a big name for himself as a master of modern Middle Eastern cooking as Executive Chef at Melbourne’s MoMo restaurant.
Regular readers of my blog will know of my passion for all things Italian (nicely served by my visit to Venice in the last few days), but also of my love of North African and Middle Eastern food. I like Greg’s ideas for bringing the exotic flavours of the Middle East into everyday cooking. He introduces exciting twists to recipes as well as giving his own take on the popular dishes of the region that have become so familiar to us: Iman Bayildi – which here is slightly deconstructed and has the addition of feta cheese; his mother’s recipe for Stuffed Vine Leaves; and a Tabbouleh with Roasted Hazelnuts.
The Maloufs have presented the recipes in an unconventional way, reflecting ‘a looser, less structured way of eating’ that is found in the Middle East where dishes – mezze-style – are put in the centre of the table and everyone helps themselves to a few spoonfuls of whatever they want. Thus the book is divided into Soups, Small Dishes, Large Dishes, Side Dishes, etc. It’s a style that also happily reflects the popularity of tapas/mezze/small plates style restaurants where people prefer to share dishes rather than sit through a formal meal.
There are some wonderful sounding soups here: Turkish Ravioli with a Crab and Saffron Broth, Spinach Soup with Little Beef Koofteh. I have to say I wasn’t quite so convinced by the sound of Cock-a-Leekie with Dates and Croque Monsieurs (that look and sound more like plain old toasted sandwiches than a proper Croque Monsieur), but then if a chef stretches the boundaries – which they must always be striving for – then some things will work better than others. The addition of some preserved lemon to guacamole sounds a brilliant idea; I must try Spicy Lebanese Sausages with Pine Nuts when the rain stops and we can get the barbecue out; I loved the sound of Persian Gulf-Style Fish that’s served with Saffron-Lemon Potatoes.
There are a number of tagines included and Lamb Kifta Tagine with Eggs looks like a brilliant supper dish, and as a great fan of Ras Al Hanout, using it to flavour a Ceviche of Red Mullet sounds great. The Bakery section has some enticing breads: I just have to try making Lebanese Bread Sticks with Za’atar. And there are some wonderful recipes for little finger foods like Spinach and Gruyere Gozleme. When I have people come to eat, I often make mezzes – or antipasti if I’m cooking Italian. I like this relaxing way of sitting and chatting with a drink to hand and a few little dishes and breads and olives to pick at, so this is in many ways just the book for me.
I don’t make cakes very often but the Little Lemon-Yogurt Cakes look so amazing, they have to be tried and would make an excellent dessert, I think, with some thick yogurt or cream on the side. I’ve promised myself I’ll replace my broken ice-cream maker for the summer and some of the ice creams here will urge me on: Saffron-Honey Ice Cream with Candied Ginger, or Syrian Apricot Ice Cream.
This is a book I can see myself using a lot. What’s also interesting to me is to wonder how Greg’s passion for Middle Eastern Food will change the menu at Petersham Nurseries; how his own influences will come through. It’s quite a challenge taking over such a well-known and respected restaurant, I imagine, so that your own cooking voice can speak while not putting off the regulars by changing things too quickly. I can only say having read Greg’s book, that I’m excited to see what’s happening down on the menu at Petersham Nurseries and must try to have a return visit soon.
Venice – Friday morning and home
It’s always hard to come home when you’ve had a brilliant holiday, but it was made a little harder this morning with sun promised in Venice again and only sight of rain, rain and more rain on the London weather forecast. However, we made the most of the short time we had and after breakfast and a nice chat with Walter as we paid our bill, Annie and I headed off to a nearby bakery we’d seen and wanted to buy some biscuits from. Venetian biscuits are famous and the ones in Majer at Campo S. Giacomo dell’Orio looked wonderful. Packets of biscuits in hand, we still had nearly an hour till we had to catch the waterbus from San Stae to Marco Polo Airport, so we wandered on into the Campo itself. As the other day in the morning, and indeed last night when we took a walk through it, it was so peaceful. It seemed that mostly only locals were around and people sat on benches dotted about the square and talked. So we did too.
After a while we knew there was no delaying heading back to the hotel to say goodbye and pick up our bags, promising Walter we’d definitely be back to stay again soon. We then walked the few metres to the San Stae vaporetto stop where we could pick up our Alilaguna boat to take us directly to the airport (we had a €25 return ticket). It only goes every half hour and I’d heard from my son (who was there last August), that it could get very full. Indeed, it was very full, but we managed to get on, although a couple of stops down a woman wasn’t allowed on. The boats aren’t that large, unlike the vaporetti, that seem to hold hundreds. There aren’t many stops and soon we were rushing across the Lagoon in a kind of water rush hour with other boats of different sizes whizzing past in a huge cloud of wash. About 45 minutes later we were disembarking and making our way along the marked walkway into the airport and heading through security. This new boat service (since I was last in Venice) makes the journey from airport to Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo and back brilliantly easy.
One of the good things about heading home from Italy is that hanging around in an airport is a blow softened by their tendency to have good wine bars in the waiting area. I had this in Rome recently and in Venice there is the de Canto wine bar which is where I always head. It had changed slightly since my last visit and expanded and was also serving cicheti as well as plates of hams, salame and cheeses.
Annie and I sat at the bar and ordered three cicheti each and a glass of prosecco. Afterwards, we had an excellent coffee and little Venetian biscuits.
Soon we were on our flight and heading back to London … which, despite the dire weather warnings wasn’t so bad. Annie and I said our goodbyes as she headed home to north London while I went outside the terminal where I was able to pick up a 490 bus which brought me all the way home. The first thing I did was put on the kettle, make a cup of tea and open those lovely biscuits from Majer. I also unpacked some coloured/flavoured pasta I bought there.
Soon, being home didn’t seem so bad and really, when you’ve had a great holiday, then the only thing to do is to sit back and enjoy the pleasure its brought.
Venice – Thursday
As we sat over breakfast looking out on to Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo‘s pretty courtyard, we knew it was a good weather sign to see Walter dismantling the gazebo that covers it during rainy days. We’d decided to cross over the Lagoon to Murano and Burano for the day. After a short traghetto ride across the Grand Canal, we crossed Cannaregio to the other side by foot to get a vaporetto to the islands. A half-day’s ticket was €16 – travelling by boat here isn’t cheap. However, it was lovely to be out on the water on such a lovely day. It’s a 7-minute ride direct to Murano and another 20 minutes to Burano.
We disembarked at Burano and were immediately captivated by the brightly coloured fishermans’ cottages and houses. As we followed a path into the main streets, we passed a Judas tree (identified by Annie for me!) in blossom, its pink flowers so pretty against the azure blue sky. We’d only intended to stay on the island for a short time and then head back to Murano, but in the end we loved this quieter island more and stayed for about four hours! It is touristy, inevitably, but if you move away for the main streets (and it’s such a small island there aren’t many), you can find little squares and streets with not a tourist in sight.
Over a coffee in a canalside cafe we looked at the guide book and saw a restaurant, Al Gatto Nero, had a fantastic write-up. Although the book said you needed to book we thought it worth taking a look and we were lucky to get a table by the canal for 12.30. We wandered on a little more, enjoying the sun and views before heading back for lunch.
As soon as we sat down at our table, glasses of complimentary prosecco came for us to enjoy while we chose what to eat. We decided on a special Gatto Nero mixed fish antipasti to start with and pappardelle with scampi and smoked ricotta to follow. When the three dishes with the starters arrived, I probably exclaimed in my delight. They looked wonderful. And they tasted wonderful: gorgeous sweet little baby clams and razor clams; tender and tasty mussels; delicious little scallops; carpaccio of swordfish; and excellent baccala manetecato, which had a soft, creamy consistency. It was all exceptionally good.
We slowly made our way through it all, delighting in the tastes, and enjoying some delicious cool house white wine with it. I think the sign of an excellent restaurant is that they serve good house wine. If the special Gatto Nero starter was very good, the pappardelle was amazing! It was simply stunningly good. Sweet scampi with a slightly smoky ricotta; tiny sweet cherry tomatoes and basil creating a lovely sauce to cover the thick strands of pasta.
I couldn’t resist a dessert, having seen a pannacotta pass by. I only managed to persuade Annie to have a couple of spoonfuls, even though she agreed it was delicious. The strawberry pannacotta was a very good, light consistency and had a compote of sweet little wild strawberries on top. We followed this with coffee and chatted to the sommelier, Massimiliano, for a while, who gave us complimentary limoncello as digestifs. We told him how much we’d enjoyed the meal. Indeed, we agreed it was without doubt the best meal of the holiday – especially that wonderful pappardelle! In fact, I can now say without any doubt it’s my favourite restaurant in Venice. And if you ever think of going there, do book. We were lucky as most tables were already reserved when we arrived and while we ate there, many people were turned away so another time, I’d definitely ring and book ahead.
We made a short stop at Murano on the way back, but Burano and Al Gatto Nero had been real highlights of our trip.
It had taken the whole of our stay to get a table at Osteria la Zucca near our hotel. It gets great write-ups and is obviously a thriving business. As we’d had a large and wonderful lunch, we didn’t want a big meal. And I’m glad we didn’t and that we hadn’t counted on our last meal (home tomorrow) being special. Zucca was a huge disappointment. It’s hard to understand where its fine reputation comes from. I joked that it was a bit like an Oodles from 1970s London – a health food cafe. Although the outside had a pretty traditional Venetian front, the decor inside with its weird modern wood panels was completely at odds with what one expected. I had a lasagne that didn’t have a touch of Italian about it and I almost forgot I was in Italy! We’d had such a brilliant lunch though, it didn’t matter too much.
It was still early when we came out so we decided to go for a walk and went on into the nearby Campo S. Giacomo which looked so pretty in the near dark. Turning off into a calle I noticed a lively bar that looked inviting and had ’tisanes’ on their menu in the window – Osteria da Filo. We didn’t want more alcohol so this seemed perfect. The friendly barman seemed a little bemused by my request at that time of night but invited me to come behind the bar and look at their choices. They had loads. We chose a mint and basil – a combination I’d never had before but which was good. It was a great place; seemed to be full of students, and a cosy place to sit and chat for a while.
We wandered slowly on in the warm night. And got temporarily lost! Although I confidently thought I knew the area well, it’s amazing how far one travels in a short time here. When Annie decided to get out her map and check our location, I couldn’t believe how far we’d walked. It didn’t matter though. It was so nice out, peaceful with mainly locals around, that we enjoyed our little nighttime excursion. Eventually we made our way (and it had been a very circular route!) back to the Rialto area and soon we were being buzzed into the hotel’s lovely little courtyard.
Venice – Wednesday
What a fabulous change in the weather. We woke to sun and a brilliantly clear blue sky, reflected in the canal as we crossed the little bridge that leads into Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo on our way out after breakfast. We went in search of a couple of places in my Secret Venice book, but they turned out to be closed as it’s a public holiday today – for St Mark – and it’s also ‘Bocolo’ day, which seems to be a bit like St Valentine’s day and you give your loved one a long-stemmed still-closed red rose (a bocolo ). I learnt this from Sandro at the hotel and also that today is the 100th anniversary of the re-opening of the Campanile Di San Marco in 1912. The tower fell down in 1902 at 10.00 a.m. Sandro showed me an old photo in today’s paper. The huge pile of rubble in the square and in front of the cathedral made me immediately ask him if many were killed or injured. Amazingly, no one was. Sandro said there’s a story of an angel falling from the cathedral prostrate, as if praying that no one was hurt. Certainly it seems a miracle that nobody died or was injured.
While looking through the Venetian newspaper with Sandro about what was going on today, and an article about ‘Bocolo’, I also learnt that if anyone asks me to go for an ‘ombra‘ they are asking if I’d like to have a small glass of wine with them. This is a Venetian term and could possibly be of use!
Annie and I followed our route from last night around Santa Croce, past the trattoria we ate at in the evening, and on into Campo S. Giacomo dell’Orio. This is such a pretty and peaceful square and little groups of people stood or sat talking while children played.
Some of the little alleys leading off it were so low, a lot of tall people I know would have to duck! Wandering on as our fancy took us, only occasionally checking where we were on the map, was lovely in the sun. And it was so quiet. What makes this area special is its peace and tranquillity; the sight of locals shopping or standing chatting. We passed whole areas and streets where there was no sign of anyone else – a completely different experience of Venice compared to the huge crowds and noise around St Mark’s. After a while we decided to take a break and found a little canalside cafe to sit in the sun with a coffee and chat for a while.
I then realised the route we were taking would lead us to my favourite wine bar for lunch in Venice: Pane Vino & San Daniele in Campo de L’Anzolo Rafael, in which lies the Archangel Rafael’s church that features in Salley Vickers’ best-selling book, Miss Garnet’s Angel, a book I love and was given to me to read by my lovely friend Jane when I came to Venice on my own in 2006. The wine bar has become a family favourite since 2007 when I was here with my son and daughter and we came across it by chance. Since then I’ve discovered it’s well known and popular, but that takes nothing away from its awesomely good San Daniele ham – cut to order – and delicious Fantinel prosecco. Both of which I had to have today, while Annie went for Asparagus Carbonara, which was excellent too.
It was the most delightfully peaceful place to enjoy lunch, especially when you’re able to sit in the sun as we did today. When we finally moved on it was towards the Accademia Bridge. Last time I was in Venice the famous view from this bridge down towards the opening of the Grand Canal where the magnificent church of Santa Maria della Salute dominates the view, was spoilt by the church being covered in scaffolding. Today, with the sun and blue sky, this view, much reproduced by artists and photographers was at its best.
We threaded our way through the crowds back to the peace of Santa Croce. We’d planned to visit the Palazzo Mocenigo, just behind our hotel and home to a collection of lovely 1920s dresses. But before we went in, we had to have our daily dose of gelato from – again – the San Stae Gelateria. Their ice cream is so good! Today I had a delicious zabaglione with orange peel and dark chocolate and some cherry ice cream.
We’d booked a table at Vino da Gigio in Cannaregio for supper tonight. I’d been a couple of times before and Annie had been once before with Jerry on my recommendation and liked it too. It’s in all the guide books but had come to us through a recommendation from my daughter’s friend Claire who lived in Venice for a few months. It serves classic Venetian food of the best kind and excellent wines. We were fortunate to find the traghetto still running from by the Rialto market to take us across the Grand Canal. This is the cheapest gondola ride you’ll find – though only lasting a couple of minutes. It cost just 50 cents each – which compared to €3.50 for a single stop to cross by vaporetto is a bargain indeed! Sometimes you have to stand but fortunately we were able to sit this evening.
From there it was a short walk to Vino da Gigio. It’s located in a lovely traditional canalside building with low ceilings and lots of beams. It was very busy and people were waiting for tables so we were glad we’d booked. A basket of bread and taralli biscuits came and we ordered a glass of prosecco each to drink while we chose what to eat.
I had baccala manetecato – a creamy baccala – with polenta to start and Annie had scallops Venetian style. Both were very good.
To follow, we both chose turbot fillet with artichoke. Really delicious! We couldn’t resist having something with artichokes having seen so many in the Rialto market, where they are often trimmed and prepared ready to cook. We also had a half carafe of excellent house red wine to go with it.
Although we’d had ice cream already today it was hard to resist a dessert in such a nice restaurant – so we settled on sharing an apple tart with grappa ice cream. It was so good I’m glad we have such little willpower when it comes to good food! The staff were really friendly and efficient and no one hurried us once we’d finished. The traghetti had stopped running by the time we left so we took the long walk round via the now very familiar Rialto Bridge. It was much quieter than earlier so we stopped and admired the night-time view, a new moon and bright star shining brightly above, and then a walk through the deserted fish market, making a lovely end to the day.
