When it’s almost too hot to cook. Venice, Summer ’26
As I quietly simmer a small pot of potatoes on the stove which will be turned into a puree, making its way into baking two loaves of potato bread for supper, I find myself wrapped in a bitter-sweet tenderness towards the city and the house I call home.
Over the summer months I tend to find myself feeling both unsettled and nostalgic. The season has just started, but it almost feels like as if it is approaching it’s end, especially when we all wish for the temperatures to ease. This summer has had a very early and ferocious start, turning verdant green into yellow, people hiding in the shade when walking through Venice, elevated humidity levels turning ”moody” even the politest people I know, the set of summer clothing seems not so appropriate anymore. What I really wish is to go back to the summers that used to be, bringing so much joy and child-like happiness, when mornings were blissfully fresh and the heat started to build up just after that. When an almost unbearably warm night was an adventure rather than a norm, and when the summer wardrobe was worn with comfort. Asking for all the things above, it seems like asking for the last crisp days of summer. Which is so sad as so many of us, or at least myself, are looking forward with great anticipation to those sun kissed and care-free days of the year. Whilst I simultaneously long for those gentler, balmy and romantic early evenings I still want to hold on to summer.
Yes, it’s hot, yet another heat wave is upon us, but it all merges into one by now, especially when the previous mass of suffocatingly war air hasn’t left yet. On a positive note, we’ve had some brief moments of rain, not often enough to my dismay – Venice somehow manages to shelter herself when it pours down all over the entire Veneto. The whole build up and anticipation of a storm including one of a kind lightning which almost cuts the dark sky in half, are truly spectacular moments to watch. Once I hear thunder at night I get up and approach our tall windows facing the Giudecca Canal. I just love watching these atmospheric weather conditions, often caused by the masses of hot air moving across Europe.
Baked Scallops in White Wine
Vitello Tonnato
The question I find myself asking most often these days is: ”What shall I cook?, What should I prepare today?”
To cook when it’s almost too hot to cook is quite a challenge (to put it mildly), specifically when your Venetian kitchen is on the ground floor. Needless to say that it’s not equipped with an air conditioned unit, nor are any of our main dining areas, which is a new experience to me as all our previous apartments were quite well organised in that respect, not always perfect but almost. But then the air con units tend to stop working when most needed, including ours. I say no more and pray for rain.
How do we cope? Well, we are more gentle with ourselves, we start the day early and walk at a slower pleasant pace; we stop for breakfast and then make our way to the Rialto Market.
Markets have become my weakness and pleasure purveyors. I want to see where the women buy their vegetables, what and how they choose them. I want to see the fish sellers, the butcher, the flower stands, and that wonderful hum of tradesmen dealing with the shoppers, a scene I could watch for hours. Markets are the true face of cities, incapable of lying.
I frequent the Rialto Market more often than I did in the past. I feel more comfortable here now, at home. It’s my time to ask about the produce, learn, chat, laugh, bump into familiar faces and wish buona giornata to everyone I know.
We buy less, carry less but more frequently. The meals, especially lunches, are quite simple nowadays. At the moment we are relishing on salads made with local large and meaty tomatoes called nasone, an antique variety native to the Venetian coastline of Cavallino -Treporti. They are extremely sweet with very little seeds, and they taste of the past, as they should do.
We snack on chilled perfectly ripe cherries, grapes and watermelon throughout the day, we have some thinly sliced ham and a few pieces of cheese for an aperitif in the garden which is lovely, but I still want to cook us something of substance, meaningful, tasty just less labour intensive. I’ve always turned dinners into slightly more special affairs. It’s the time for the Dégustatuer and I to spend some relaxed time together and I’ve turned it into a ritual over the years. A glass of wine, chatting about everything and nothing, enjoying each others company wherever we are.
Focaccia with Olives
Torta Tenerina with Rosemary
After the hottest day so far behind us (apparently), I’ve rolled up my sleeves and shifted my attention onto the less heat generating oven. I’ve been roasting big fat red peppers (until their skin turns dark, almost burnt peeling off so easily) which are great in salads and gazpacho soup, grilling sliced aubergine to have it with olive oil, garlic and parsley as a side dish.
Last week I baked us a generous portion of vitello tonnato, thinly sliced cold veal, neatly layered on a plate and smothered with a tuna, caper, anchovy, boiled egg sauce with a dash of Marsala (all the ingredients blended into a smooth creamy sauce), so delicious. Restaurants are equipped with fancy and very beautiful professional slicers which cut the cold meat very thinly, to be then gorgeously arranged on a plate, like a work of art. At home I make sure I have a well sharpened knife to hand and I just do my best.
I bought the veal this time at the butcher’s at the Rialto Market. I almost felt like as if I were cheating on my shop near home, but the choice is slightly different and there is still so much to learn for me, and the lady-butcher was more than happy to discuss anything to do with her produce.
The veal cut is first sealed by sizzling it on all sides, next tuna, capers and anchovy fillets find their way into the pan. After a few minutes I pour in some white wine, and after it has almost evaporated I add milk. Next I transfer the pan with all the ingredients into the oven, and that is where the magic happens. I love this dish as it’s meant to be served cold, perfect for now, and we enjoyed it over three dinners. The sauce is flavoursome and rich. A salad, a few hunks of bread to mop up the juices, an ideal recipe for a lovely evening.
Seafood forms the cornerstone of the Venetian diet. Scallops are always bountiful at the fish market and they are always a treat. Over time I’ve honed my preferred way of preparing scallops. The way that reminds me of very cosy long lunches at a French restaurant in London that we had been going to. I also like to bake or grill scallops in their shells. I find it so elegant to serve scallops in their shells, but it’s also very practical. The simplest way for me right now is to season each scallop with salt and pepper, nestle them back in their shells (two scallops per shell to save time and there is just one baking tray to clean) and add freshly chopped parsley with garlic, pour in some white wine to create a richer and more delectable sauce, dab cold butter and sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top. Off they go into the hot oven for about 10 minutes.
There is nothing like a home-baked bread. I love the entire ritual of it, playing with different kinds of flours, mixing in the yeast (I wish I could keep a live sourdough starter at home, but it’s not practical when you travel often), watching the dough rise, folding it and finally baking it. The smells wafting from the kitchen are second to none, no matter the temperature. I’m sharing here with you a recipe of a Bari styled focaccia with olives and oregano. I use a high proportion of semolina flour but you can change that amount or just stay with plain white flour. I particularly like this focaccia with a tomato topping, but since we’ve been indulging on a vast array of tomatoes this side of summer, instead I pressed a few good large olives into the dough. Otherwise I’d flavour the bread with lots of rosemary.
To finish some of our meals off I recently baked us a wonderfully rich, dense yet delicate chocolate cake, spiced with aged rum and fresh rosemary from the garden, it’s almost a flourless cake hence it’s very soft and moist. In Italy it’s called torta tenerina.
I followed my already shared on blog recipe here, but I modified it slightly. I folded in slightly less flour, I shortened the baking time by a few minutes, and on this occasion I didn’t add any rum macerated cherries into the chocolate dough, but served each slice of the cake decorated with sweet ripe and cold cherries for a fresh contrast. Really really enjoyable.
Nocino Custard
Feta and Watermelon Salad
Inspired by a recipe found in David Leibovitz’s book ”Room for Dessert” I’ve come up with a recipe for a Nocino and Nutmeg Custard. Nocino is an Italian walnut liqueur and since I already had it at home I simply became very attracted to the idea of flavouring a custard with it, making it more sophisticated and grown up.
The recipe I’ve shared serves four. The first two pots of custard we enjoyed lukewarm, with fresh fruit on top. Then we finished the Nocino custards having them chilled, smooth and densely creamy, but giving no resistance to the dessert spoon. Perfect to round off any meal, especially on a hot summer’s evening – paired yet again with dark, almost black, chilled and very sweet cherries.
After days of excess we switched to salty Feta cheese, ruby red sweet chilled watermelon and fresh mint salads. I either keep it very simple or toss in a few other ingredients like: tomatoes, cucumber, capers and spring onions. Lots of mint and basil leaves, a generous drizzle of a mild olive oil from Ligura or Lake Garda, lots of lemon juice and some salt. The whole miscellany has a wonderfully summery, by-the-beach feel about it. Serve a piece of a crunchy bread with it and accompany everything with a glass or two of a good Prosecco. In my mind it’s a recipe for a very enjoyable and refreshing evening.
Summer in Venice ’26, salute !!
