Verona, one of the most romantic and seductive cities on the planet, land of Romeo and Juliet, also conquers the table with its traditional dishes
Pastissada de Caval, bigoli with sardines, pike and polenta: many dishes from the usual Veronese cuisine make the city of Verona one of the most interesting culinary scenes in the area. Cuisine of poor and peasant origin that is harmed by the varied territory: we go from fish from Lake Garda to cheeses from Lessinia, products from Valpolicella to rice from Lower Veronese.
A city classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO that enchants for its medieval references and Shakespearean echoes, and that between the walks through its romantic alleys and the view over the roofs of the city from the Torre dei Lamberti invites you to sit down and taste the good of its culinary traditions.
Eat in Verona
Pastissada de Caval: horse stew is one of the festive dishes
The origin of the dish dates back to the Lombards, when a fierce battle was fought on the well-known field near Verona between the king of Italy Odoacre and the king of the Ostrogoths Theodoric. The latter, after the battle, would have allowed Veronese, now in the grip of appetite, to feed on the horses that had fallen in the field. It was the farmer Bertoldo who suggested the pastissada recipe to Teodorico, putting the meat in amphorae and covering them with seasonings and red wine.
Today, the dish is identified by the long preparation that makes the meat particularly tender and tasty.
Bigoli with sardines or bigoi with sardinia are a typical entry from the Veneto area.
Large raw spaghetti stretched in bronze, this recipe was produced at the beginning of the 17th century and is served with duck stew or sardines.
It is claimed that in 1600 a pasta maker in Padua was allowed to try out a patent for a machine he created to make multiple shapes of long pasta. Customers preferred these large rough spaghetti called bigoli, probably from bigàt which, in the Venetian dialect, means caterpillar.
Boiled with pearà
Pearà, a term that translates as “spicy” in the Veronese dialect, was a poor sauce that was traditionally accompanied by mixed boiled meats. Typical of Christmas or Sundays, it would seem that he was the chef at the court of Alboino, king of the Lombards, who devised it to restore strength to Rosmunda.
Cooked in a terracotta pan, today the execution of the dish changes from one country to another and even differs depending on the family.
Risotto all'amarone
Vialone Nano rice, Valpolicella Amarone and grated Monte Veronese cheese, this risotto remains one of the most popular dishes for visitors and for the Veronese themselves.
Amarone de ella Valpolicella, a high-value dry red wine produced only in the Valpolicella area, in the province of Verona, is one of the main excellences of European winemaking. Used in the kitchen with another great local product, such as Riso Vialone Nano, it gives life to a risotto that continues to be one of the main dishes in the best restaurants in the city.
pandoro
Pandoro is Veronese's own dessert that is eaten especially during the Christmas holidays. The name derives from the Venetian language "golden bread", which was originally served on the tables of wealthy Venetians as well as Nadalin. The origins of the recipe can be found in ancient Rome, but the recipe, as we understand it today, dates back to the 19th century, as an evolution of Nadalin, a Veronese dessert that only gained recognition from De. Co in two thousand twelve.
The addresses where you can taste Verona
Al Bersagliere
Baccalà alla bersagliera, Venetian-style pasta and beans, boiled with pearà? This is the right address for you.
Al Bersagliere is the usual tavern in the heart of Verona, in the heart of the old Filipino village, where you can taste easy and traditional dishes, with a rich flavor and cooked with love and passion by Mrs. Marina.
Inside there are wooden beams on the ceiling, a jukebox in the corner, photographs on the walls of old cars and moments spent making the rooms very elegant and timeless.
The winery, a must-see, is a genuine encyclopedia of Valpolicella wine that will enrich your gastronomic experience by wrapping you in a soft hug that smells good and home.
Via Derrière Pallone, 1 – tel. 0458004824
All'Isolo
If you are wondering where to taste the usual pike en saor in Verona, the advice is in the All'Isolo restaurant. Among the few “typical restaurants” recognized by the city council, this exquisite osteria, located in Veronetta, in the old heart of the city, offers traditional dishes in an easy setting and with great hospitality.
In the dining room Enzo and his daughter Sabrina, attentive and free for each and every one of the dinner needs, while in the kitchen his wife Silvana with the help of her daughter Michela will treat you to the best of the dishes traditional, starting with ingredients such as Monte Veronese, pearà and the inevitable Veronese wines. The homemade desserts and the attention paid to the seasonal trend of the raw materials make this restaurant an unmissable address.
Piazza Isolo, five A – tel. 045594291
12 apostles
History, tradition and high-quality cuisine, the twelve Apostoli restaurant, awarded with a Michelin star, offers cuisine linked to the flavors of Veronese, combining tradition and territory in dishes of extreme elegance. Inside an 18th century palace, in rooms decorated with frescoes by Professor Pino Casarini, the Gioco family, since 1920, with great dedication and foresight, has committed itself to creating a place that could become a teller of culinary stories until transformed in a historical place and gastronomic reference. In the kitchen, chef Mauro Buffo offers dishes sentimentally linked to the territory, creatively mixed with stimuli and experiences.
Corticella San Marco three – tel. 045596999
Old wine shop
Historic restaurant that reveals the strong link between the city of Verona and wine. The store has a history that traces its roots back to 3 and is today run by the association Les Familles Historiques d'Amarone. A winery that has XNUMX of the best wine lists in Italy with more than four thousand five hundred labels and a cuisine capable of expressing the spirit of Veronese and Venetian tradition with the use of the best raw materials.
A meeting place for intellectuals and artists of the season, it continues to be a meeting place for cultural events and oenological meetings today.
Via Scudo di Francia, three – tel. 0458004535
Al Calmiere
Next to the medieval Basilica of San Zeno, the Al Calmiere restaurant offers specialties of traditional Veronese and Venetian cuisine, such as bigoli al torchio, pasta and fasoi and also interesting options of main dishes such as meat porridge.
The restaurant was born in 1919 as a tavern to serve wine. Originally called Osteria Al Calmiere, from the verb "calmierare", the story goes that here the cost of half a liter of wine was cheaper than the existing seasonal competition in Piazza di Verona.
In 1987 there is no new Al Calmiere: rénové dans les moindres détails, avec la grande cheminée au center de la pièce, il s'affirme comme une adresse à ne pas manquer pour les principantes d'une cuisine authentique et représentative des traditions of the area.
Piazza San Zeno ten – tel. 0458030765
