Venetian Republic: Recipes from the Veneto, Adriatic Croatia, and the Greek Islands

Italo-Australian restaurateur Zoccali (Pasta Artigiana) enticingly explores the rich culinary history of the 118 islands that make up Venice in this enticing and informative collection of recipes. First settled in 421 A.D. by barbarians, Zoccali explains, Venice morphed into a republic that served through the 18th century as a key trade hub. He divides the book into four sections: the city of Venice; the Veneto region of Italy where Venice is located, the coast of Croatia (a “maritime superhighway”) across the Adriatic Sea, and the Greek islands that were once under Venetian control. Each has its own introduction and is then broken down into starters, first courses, main courses, and desserts. There are similar ingredients throughout, which can sometimes lead to repetition in discussing similar dishes, such as squid-ink pasta with clams and baby artichokes from Venice and squid-ink risotto from Croatia, or pastissada in the Veneto (traditionally made with horse meat but here with beef), Greek pastitsada with chicken, and the pasticada of Croatia. Desserts are abundant, including such appealing treats as a spiral maraschino liqueur cake from the island of Rab and Greek zabaglione, made with Mavrodaphne rather than Marsala. Italophiles will delight in this informed culinary history. [em](Mar.) [/em]