trading empire. silks, spices, ideas and money, lots of it. the venetians live between earth and water. it s shaped their character, salty, wise and ingenuous. i have never seen anyone do that before. i m stanley tucci. i m italian on both sides and i m traveling across italy to discover how the food in each of this country s 20 regions is as unique as the people and their past. may i? thank you. how are you? good. good. surrounded by wetlands, these people are hunters. you re a great shot. and gatherers. it is perfectly balanced. wow. wow! the sea brought the outside world to the venetians and fed their appetites. mmm, so many different cultures right in a bowl. venice is the capital of the venito region. it is flat, fertile and damp. sheltered in the west by the dolomites and in the east warmed by the adriatic sea. 117 islands sit in this salty bay, the lagoon. venice is the largest. no food is grown here. it all comes in from the outside. i want to
Some "Top Chef" winners are staying the course within the tumultuous and risky restaurant business, while others are pursuing careers in front of the camera.
shrimp. it is so tinyu don t clean anything. you don t clean anything. you just eat the whole thing. so that s cuddlefish. cuddlefish is a cousin of the squid and octopus. squid. this also has ink. it does. some people confuse, you know, risotto, and they appear squid because they cannot find cuddle fish. a venetian will tell you that you have to use cuddle fish. sapia is a cuddle fish and its ink is a key ingredient. so let s get the little ones. first you have to extract the ink sack, unpunctured. it is easy if you are a tenth
. first you have to extract the ink sack, unpunctured. it is easy if you re a tenth generation fish monger. it looks like a pearl. the precious ink is used to stain the risotto black. making it as theatrical as venice itself. for our two-person feast, we re buying ten cuttle fish. then heading to my hotel to cook. the problemcy want to buy all of it. i can t. i m saying in a hotel. this fabulous dish is identified with venice because there are so many cuttle fish in the lagoon. maybe it is also because the whole fish is used and despite their wealth, the venetians are a thrifty people. we haven t been in a kitchen together for 20 years. did we even cook at my house? i think with did. your mom, your dad.