Rialto Market Days

It is always sad when leaving a place after all , a place which has been your home. Particularly for me, I will miss my friends from the market, they helped my stay and days be brighter. Any where one goes, it is always touching when one has been accepted by the local folks , for me it was at the market  plus a few cafes and being treated more of a local than a tourist. Like when you start to get parsley for free and they round down your purchase rather than rounding up. Not to mention they are careful not to pass you inferior goods, so you get better quality products.

I will miss all the interesting produces in season and their best advice on how to prepare them. Not to mention they helped me with my italian too, introducing  new words to me, the latest was ’suocera’ – mother in law! hahah!

Butcher – Ragazzi Marino

La Batta, Salumi e Formaggi Negozio (ham & cheese shop) – 3 guys , Davide, Stefano and Piero

Family run vegetable and fruit seller (one of the kindest people in the market!) You find  them only from Tue-Sat and there is an owl on his cashier machine!

My other vege and fruit supplier – more variety in terms of herbs and salads. Also great people!

Map of where they are at the Rialto Market , circled green.

As for fish and seafood, just go around and see what they have and compare prices. Although I usually go to the ones facing the fruit and vegetable market, occasionally you find fresher and the type of fish YOU want from the others. It is worth walking around and see what you like before buying.

Arrivederci tutti!

Scampi Crudi

Raw langoustine or scampi crudi – when they have them in season , it is like once a month, they are in their highest production, large and fresh in the market here, I normally dive in and buy a handful. They make an excellent and impressive starter. The only Asian or Mexican thing I did was adding coriander to the citrus salsa.

• 16 large scampi (about 4 each)
• 1 lime or 1 lemon
• 1/2 red onion  diced finely
• 2 tsp of coriander chopped finely
• 2 blood oranges, cut into cubes or 1 pink grapefruit works fine too
• sugar , salt and olive oil to bind and for taste

Prepare the salsa 30 mins before serving. Cut the oranges or grapefruit into small cubed segments , put them in a bowl. Chopped and diced the red onion finely, add to the oranges including the coriander. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime and mix in about 2 tbp of olive oil, 1/2 tsp of sugar, a slight pinch of salt and mix well. Leave the salsa in the fridge for later.

Peel and devein the scampi. Place them nicely on a serving place, drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Drop a large spoonful of the salsa on the side.  Serve immediately. Have them with a glass of prosecco.

Pasta Romana

Pastas are best made simple where the fresh ingredients can truly showcase their taste and they should not be overmix with too strong a spice. That is rule no 1 I learn about making a good pasta dish here in Venice. Rule no 2 is – when the recipe calls for sauteing the garlic and olive oil, it is not stir frying – for most of us, Asians we think they are the same thing. It is all about tossing the pasta with the warm aromatic oil or sauces. Not stir frying them until they are dry! Rule no 3, don’t be shock if you think pasta is a whole meal of its own so there should always be meat in them. It is primi piatto, first course – in Italy the meat part of the meal comes in the secondo – your second course.

Here are 2 of my favourite roman pasta – cacio e pepe and carbonara.

Cacio e Pepe (for 2)

• 200-250 g of spaghetti
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup of pecorino romano , grated fresh
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 1 tbp of olive oil
• reserve 1 cup of boiling pasta water

Cook the spaghetti (thick spaghetti is best) in slightly salted water with 2 table spoon of olive oil according to the instructions on the packet.

When al dente (there should still be a bite to the pasta), drain & keep about 1 cup of the cooking water from the pasta.

Heat oil in a saucepan, add a generous sprinkling of black pepper. Leave aside on warm heat, not hot!

Meanwhile  in a bowl blend the grated cheese and the pasta cooking water 1/2-3/4 cup and a little more if the mixture is still stringey, blend it well until creamy but a watery creamy consistency.

Drain and toss the spaghetti into the pan with warm oil on low-medium heat, pour in the creamy cheese mixture, stir well the spaghetti in the sauce until the pasta starch binds the sauce and pasta well , add a little more pasta water if consistency gets too dry and stringey. Simmer for about 1-2 mins, till sauce thickens and coats the pasta nicely.

Serve very hot, add more freshly ground black pepper.

Carbonara (for 2)
* due to the raw egg content, not suitable for pregnant ladies or persons with low immune system.

• 250 g of spaghetti or tagliatelle
• 60 g of pancetta or bacon cut into cubes
• 2 egg yolk and 1 whole egg (S or M size eggs) – pasteurised*
• 2 tbp of cream
• 50 g of pecorino cheese grated
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbp of olive oil

Heat up the oil in a pan on medium heat and fry the bacon til the fat oozes out and bacon pieces are crispy but not burnt! Switch off the heat. Leave aside

In a bowl large enough to toss the pasta, put the eggs and cream and whisk it well, add the cheese and black pepper. Mix well , finally put in the bacon pieces. Add salt to taste if desired ( I don’t)

Cook the spaghetti in salted water with a table spoon of olive oil according to the instructions on the packet.

When al dente (there should still be a bite to the pasta), drain but not too well, pour the pasta immediately into this bowl and toss well with the eggy, cheesy sauce.

Add extra pecorino cheese and black pepper if desired. Serve hot.

Delicioso!

Cinnamon Apple Cake

What an autumn day with her charateristic weather – rainy and windy, and cold! Brrrr.. Cinnamon apple cake with nutty streusel topping on this rainy day was what I needed and better still if you are nursing a cold like I have been  the last couple of days. This was also to be my last bake in Venice. In between packing, I managed to squeeze in some backing time. Admittedly I had left over flour, butter, nuts  and some apples – instead of throwing them out, why not bake a cake!

It is ‘hyggeligt’ (danish word for cosy), the smell of cinnamon reminds me of Christmas and did invoke a warm homey feeling somehow. We are in the midst of packing and while nursing my cold, taking a break from the boxes – this apple cake soothed the soul (or cold).

It was also easy to make. The recipe is from my Richard Sax Home Classic Desserts book. His apple cakes have never failed me in fact.

And here’s how to make it :

• 2 large golden apples peeled, cored and diced to about 1 inch thick (about 2 cups)
• 2 1/2 cups plain flour at room temperature
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp of salt
• 225 g of unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup plain yogurt mixed with 1/2 cup milk

Nutty streusel topping:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 tbp of cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped mixed nuts, pecan, walnuts and almonds

Preheat oven to 180 d Celsius. Butter a 23 x 23 cm square baking pan for a higher thicker cake or 23 x 33 cm for a flatter cake,  lined the pan with greased parchment paper, set aside. Sift the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, beat the butter at medium high speed until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry flour mixture. Stir in the apples with a large spoon until blended. Do not overmix. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin .

For the topping, mix all the ingredients except the nuts together in a food processor. I just used my fingertips, tossing and pinching the butter with the other ingredients together, making sure the texture resembles breadcrumbs like when making short crust pastry. Finally stir in the nuts.

Scatter the streusel over the cake batter and bake for about 50  mins to 1 hour.

Let it cool for about 1 hour before serving. Can be served warm or cool completely. Great as a coffee cake or for any time snack.

Back to Asia

After 15 months in Venice, we will be packing again, in 8 days time. This time we are moving to Singapore. Definitely closer to home for me and happy to be seeing close friends and family again. But I must confess, I will miss Venice’s quirkiness and troubles and Italy’s moodswings.

On Sat, I will make my rounds to say goodbye to the kindly butcher and vegetable sellers who have been my contact to the Venetian world introducing me to so many wonderful local produces. I will definitely miss them.We are also thankful for having had a good time in Venice and blessed with no major sickness or accidents.

As we enter a new chapter of our lives, we will look back fondly on our time here in Venice. I hope Venice will take care of herself and her visitors will too so that the future travellers will still be able to inhale the magic of bygone times.

We are looking forward to Singapore and for me, to venture into more Peranakan cooking and the local kuihs. As for travel destinations, there are plentiful we can explore leisurely. It is also an excellent opportunity to be able catch up with friends and family alike and spend more time together, something we miss a lot due to our constant move .  

For the last time, hugs and kissess – from Venice.

Our home in Venice/ address: San Marco 3067 , 3 piano, 30124 Venezia, Italia

View from the Grand Canal over Palazzo Barnabo’s baroque gardens.

Rome – Day 3

The Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum

Day 3 – Colosseo, Roman Forum, Vittorio monument… (24/10/2009)

We took the Metro from the Spanish Steps to Coliseum, to save time. It would have taken us approximately 40  mins to walk from there. We started the day with getting a €12 ticket per person at the Forum entrance on Via Dei Fori Imperiali. The ticket includes the Coliseum too. The wait was about 20 mins or so. I read that the queue at the Coliseum usual runs longer and heck it was also a Saturday morning, so as expected more people than usual.

The Roman Forum is impressive, the marvels of ancient Rome is not lost on the modern visitor at all.  After our round at the lower ruins, we climbed up to the Palatine Hill for an even more impressive view of the ruins. There are so many descriptives of the various locations in the forum, one has to either read them up from a good guide book or get the audio guide.  DO GET AN AUDIO GUIDE.

View from Palatine Hill

On Palatine Hill you will find more ruins mainly mansions because as Rome grew, Palatine Hill became the ’in’ neighbourhood for the rich and afterwards the Emperors. Here lies also the Stadio or The Stadium of Domitian (Stadio di Domiziano) or hippodrome. Domitian, a Roman Emperor (51-96 AD) was crazy about sports. He implemented the Capitoline Games in 86 AD which were in a way similar to the Olympic Games.  Held every four years, the games included various athletic events, chariot races and gladiator fights.

The Stadio at Palatine Hill

For lunch, we took a break after going round the Roman Forum and before heading for the Coliseum. If you like walking and don’t mind doing a bit more, from the Roman Forum, not far off approximately 15-20 mins, walk up Via Nazionale to Palazzo delle Esposizioni for a nice toilet or coffee break & quick lunch. It is modern and minimalistic designed . The other ‘older’ areas housed several art exhibitions. There is also a restaurant in there.

After lunch, we headed for the Coliseum – undoubtedly impressive and to think back during those days how daunting this building must have been. It must  have also given the visitor an imposing reminder of the might and wealth of the Roman Empire.

Vittorio Monument on Piazza Venezia

Other sights we caught were Vittorio Emanuelle Monument, Campidoglio behind it and Palazzo Venezia (Mussolini’s favourite hang out place where he made his famous speeches).

If you have time hang around at night to see the Coliseum light up and the various other monuments. The ruins though including the Trajan markets, were only dimly lit.

For dinner that night, we went back to the hotel and had an excellent Roman traditional meal , including a tender roasted suckling pig at Ristorante Ambasciata D’Abruzzo  which was very close to the hotel. For some excellent dolce and pastries, don’t forget to stop by Il Cigno Pasticceria at Via dei Parioli,  not far off from the hotel Aldrovandi either.

Day 4 – Pyramid of Cestius & Circus Maximus (25/10/2009)

Half day left in Rome, took the car and since it was Sunday, we braved the traffic albeit slightly reduced to hit these 2 other sights.

The pyramid was built about 18 BC–12 BC as a tomb for Gaius Cestius Epulo, a magistrate and member of one of the four great religious corporations at Rome, the Septemviri Epulonum.

The sketch and the description is from wikipedia.

Circus Maximus where chariot racing was really hip then, came to race here and Ben Hur is the filmatised version of it.

That about sums up our 3 1/2 days in Rome. Wished we could have seen more… like Travestere, Baths of Caracalla and The Catacombs. Well at least we have something to see should our wish come true at the Trevi Fountain amd we return to Rome one day.

Rome – Day 2

Trevi Fountain

Day 2 – Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Stairs and a little shopping (23/10/2009)

From the Spanish Steps you can walk towards Piazza Navona, you will come across Nicola Salvi’s  Trevi Fountain, toss a coin to ensure your return to Rome  which of course I did, you just have to, while adding to the collection of those who wait till late night or early dawn to fish them out ( it is illegal by the way but what is there to stop them from doing it). The precise tradition calls for one to throw the coin over one’s left shoulder while standing with one’s back to the Trevi Fountain.

The Dome in Pantheon

Pantheon - a pagan temple but now a church houses the tomb of Raphael is an engineering feat especially the dome. The gray dome measures 43 m in diameter and 43 m in height. Apparently one of a kind – designwise in the world.  The centre of this dome has an opening, called the oculus. The oculus prevents the building from collapsing under her weight and to let light in. It is believed that the circle and square forms repeated all over the Pantheon was inspired by the ancient architect Vitruvius’s notion that squares and circles were the spaces the human body most naturally occupies when his limbs are extended. In turn, over 1 000 years later, Leonardo da Vinci turned this concept into his famous drawing of the Vitruvian Man.

Spanish Steps – this is where the shopping happens. Around Spanish Steps, stretching accross and around the area you will find shops for all pockets. As you move towards Piazza Del Popolo, the shops do get more expensive. The other area I like for shopping is around Piazza Navona, here you find kitchy boutiques rather than your mainstream highstreet fashion labels.

Eating suggestions - many places around Piazza Del Fiori (about 15 mins walk from Piazza Navona north west) or Maccheroni between Piazza Navona and Piazza Montecitero. There is also Cafe Fandango, at Piazza di Pietra close by the Pantheon - a cinema/cultural venue but also for good eats especially for lunch and Giolitti for an excellent gelato or dolce and coffee. When in Rome, you must try either the Tripa (tripe) or Maccheroni Cacio e Pepe (thick spaghetti tossed in pecorino cheese and black pepper) and fyi, the Carbonara’s home is Rome.

Rome – Day 1

I said this before and I will say it again – “Rome was not built in a day, so it was not possible to see Rome in 3 days either!” Essentially Rome for 3 days was possible but you have not seen her properly. If you are rushed for time, like we were and you have only got 3 days – you have to plan your time and sights carefully!

Hotel – through last minute.com we found a 5 star hotel (Hotel Aldrovandi Palace, by Borghesse park in the quiet and affluent neighbourhood of Parioli) with a decent deal, where you stay 4 nights you get one night free. So on an average night it came out to be about €210 per night including taxes and breakfast. The hotel’s location although a little far from downtown where the action and sights were, is still alright. We had a car with us and the hotel has its own parking complimentary for hotel guests and that was mainly the deciding factor. The hotel provided free shuttle bus ride to the Spanish Steps each day every 30 mins. Driving in downtown Rome can be rather nail biting especially if you are unfamiliar with the roads. Smart cars everywhere , they are worse than the scooters/mopeds. Decision made, hotel was ok for our needs.

Verdict: By the way it also has the 1 michelin starred restaurant called ‘Baby’.  The hotel room is of a good size, clean and comfortable. The breakfast buffet was good.

Day 1 – Vatican City (22/10/2009)

I wasn’t sure if there will be long queues for the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel – it is October after all, but I did not want to take the chance as we were on a tight schedule, I bought the admission tickets online (€28 ticket + €8 booking fee for 2 adults) through the official vatican website http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html . As it turned out, on the day itself, the queues were not bad – probably a 15 minute wait all in all. So you could take the chance and come and queue up instead of buying them beforehand. I read that it is alright to do so if you are visiting on Tue-Thurs, but for Fri, Sat and Mon, the queues can be longer and crazier.

Some guidebooks say you will spend at least 3 hours , you can easily max out to 6-8 hours. We spent 6 hours plus a little more. So I suggest to make it a full day trip to the Vatican if you want to savour and really enjoy the Vatican’s art collection to your heart’s content. Although there are cafes in there, it may also be wise to bring some little snacks with you as we forgot to eat! Hahaha – yes but then suddenly we were starving, late in the afternoon – luckily we had muesli bars with us. We happily ate them and when our blood sugar level was up to normal again, we were refreshed and could continue on.

Here are some of the fantastic art pieces awaiting you especially by the Renaissance masters.

Laocoon, 1st AD – studied by Michelangelo the human form and copied them inthe Sistine Chapel frescoes

Raphael’s Transfiguration in Pinacoteca

The ceiling of The Map Room ( I was most fascinated by it) . Coordinated by Giralomo Muziano and Cesare Nebbia, together with a large group of artists, they made the ceiling frescoes. The decoration depicts a series of 80 episodes taken from the history of the Church and the lives of the Saints ; each episode is linked geographically to the region represented below it on the walls.

The Last Judgement by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. If you look at the bottom right hand corner, you will see a man with his genitals bitten by the snake, that is  Biagio , a contemporary of Michelangelo who complained that there were too much nudity in the Sistine Chapel and insisted that these exposed parts should be painted over. Tongue in cheek, and fed up with Biagio’s complaints, Michelangelo painted Biagio with the snake mouth covering his private parts!

We ended the tour by entering the St Peter’s Basilica – impressive as it is, the church itself besides the size and the grandeur, is an art piece herself! I went over to rub St Peter’s foot as it is believed that the Catholic pilgrims rub his foot to give thanks for having arrived in Rome safely. As a show of respect too, I went over and continued that tradition.

Here you can also see the humongous work of Bernini – the Baldacchino – a baroque canopy , which marks the holiest part of the basilica. Under it is the papal altar, where only the pope may celebrate Mass and straight beneath that is the site of St. Peter’s tomb.

Beneath the Baldacchino, my attempt to take a photo of the papal altar…

Also in St Peter’s basilica, you must not miss Michelangelo’s Pieta – he made this when he was 23 yrs of age – you can see why he was one of the best in his time.

By the time we finished with the Vatican city (we started at 11am), it was already 1745hr.  We headed back to the city – towards Piazza Navona . We had dinner at a charming but small vinoteca called Mimi e Coco on Via del Governo Vecchio, 72 (close to Piazza Navona).

NB: Keep in mind many proper restaurants are opened late, from 7.30pm onwards. Quite likely places that are opened all the day long are very touristy and Rome restauranteurs (the more scrupulous ones) are known to also cheat tourists.. so just keep your eyes and wits around you when ordering making sure you ask the price for what you order if they are not stated in the menu.

Mad About Macarons

Paulette Macarons

The world it seemed has gone mad about macarons.  I don’t blame her, I am too. Cupcake craze is yesterday  – today they are these dainty sweets. Both are rather similar, pretty to look at and heavenly in taste – although not entirely the same thing, one is a cake while the other is , well a macaron, light as a feather and yet it can satisfy your sweet craving to the fullest.

I have to admit I am more fascinated by the way they look and I love their diverse fillings and somehow they don’t feel as heavy as your regular cupcake. I guess it does depend on what craving you are trying to fulfill. They are made of sugar, egg whtes and finely ground almonds and you can add a variety of flavours and colours to them. As for the filling, any combination you can think of , I supposed goes!

Of course they are french – and they are all over the place today. Thank god for that. Some interesting recommended macaron shops around are:

1. Paulette (USA)
2. Pierre Herme (France)
3. La Duree (France)
4. Gregory Renard (France)
5. Arnaud Larher (France)

If you find others worth trying out, do drop me a note, a macaron crawl is in the waiting..

Torta di Limone (Lemon Cake)

The Italians I have to admit are masters in making ‘dolci’ – sweets and cakes! One of my favourites that they serve for breakfast is a light lemony cake. We were in Rome recently for 4 days,  while staying at the Aldrovandi Palace, I sampled their lovely torta which I had for breakfast , 4 consecutive mornings. Okay – I had something else healthy too, yogurt and fresh fruits, not only cakes! But I reckoned since we were out from 10am to 10pm each day walking non stop, I needed the energy from these simple carbohydrates.

Inspired somewhat, (and admittedly I am still in a citrusy phase) – I gave it a shot when I returned home. Made my own ‘torta di limone’ – lemon cake.

Recipe

• 200 g plain flour + 50g of  ‘frumina’ or cornflour
• 250 g sugar
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 100 g butter, room temperature
• juice of 1 lemon and rind of 2 lemons
• 4 tbp of milk
• 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and butter until creamy and light. Incorporate the grated rind of lemon and the  juice, milk , mixing well and carefully. Gradually add the flour and baking powder

Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry, then add the mixture gently into the cake batter, folding.

Grease and flour a cake pan , about 28 cm – pour the batter and bake in preheated oven at 180 ° C for about 40 minutes. Insert a skewer , should come out clean.

Once cool serve the cake with some whipped cream.