Italian Cuisine
Veneto
Veneto is well known for risotto is a dish where the added ingredients differ by according to location,with fish and seafood being added closer to the coast and pumpkin,asparagus,radicchio and frogs' legs appearing further away from the Adriatic.Beans and other legumes are seen in these areas with the dish pasta e fagioli being a unique combination of beans and pasta.Veneto features heavier dishes using exotic spices and sauces.Ingredients like stockfish or simple marinated anchovies are found here as well.Less fish is eaten in Veneto and more meat and sausages are preferred such as the famous sopressata and garlic salami.High quality vegetables are prized here with red radicchio from Treviso being prized as well as asparagus from Bassano del Grappa.
Apulia
The northern portion of Apulia uses copious amounts of garlic and onion.The region is known for its dried pasta made from durum wheat flour.Fresh vegetables come in the way of tomatoes,zucchini,broccoli,bell peppers,potatoes,spinach,eggplants,cauliflower,fennel,Belgian endive,as well as legumes such as chickpeas,lentils and beans.Apulia is the largest producer of olive oil in Italy.The closeness to the sea brings a proliferation of fish and seafood to the table,especially oysters,and mussels.Goat and lamb are seen on the table here occasionally as well.