"The Family Serandrei… a history of Venetian land and sea "

The recipe : “Bigoli vellututata of sauce with leeks and fried bread”

Come diceva William Shakespeare, there is a story in the life of all men, and hear is my passion.  A few nights ago, sitting next to Kim and Gianni Serandrei, on the 50th 'anniversary of the Restaurant "La Caravella”,  I spent a pleasant evening listening to the story of a Venetian family in a city that always fills me with eyes, the heart and soul ...

“Without memories, we are nothing. So it is with the people. The Italians are the sum of experiences in History. If you lose, returns to be confused that the common people have no voice. So it is with wine and food and wine. The kitchen becomes poor that wealth, wine farmers who becomes DOC. This too is History. Our roots gave birth to the Italian people, with its traditions, with his creativity, with its excellence known in the world”. Giorgio Ferrari, Professor of Contemporary History

Era l’anno 1905 when Zoe Lustig of Hungarian origin, and Ugo Serandrei, Born in Pisa, but moved to Venice, married. They rented a small pension of eight rooms, which they called "International" and began the hotel business.

Ugo, once returned from the Great War, together with his son Renzo he devoted himself to the hotel amplifying and enhancing it. In 1908 nasceva l’Hotel Saturnia & International. Saturnia, Virgil's ancient name of Italy.

Located in the heart of the city, between Piazza San Marco and the Accademia Galleries, the hotel was the ideal meeting point to return, after the war, to that desire for normality that would allow to talk again of art and culture. Under the guidance of Renzo Serandrei, Thus was born the Ciro’s bar, famous club at the time attached to the hotel, who had the honor of welcoming the likes of Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

In 1963 another turning point. Ciro's bar was transformed by Renzo, great lover of cooking, in the restaurant "La Caravella"So named for the interior who reported memory environments characteristic of an ancient sailing vessel.

The creativity of Renzo, man in constant search, meant that the restaurant might acquire for twenty-five consecutive years, the Michelin star. Fifty years of history and tradition: 1963 – 2013.

The continuity in the family has meant that, after the death of Renzo, follow the activities the child Alberto.  From 2012 The hotel is run by Ugo Serandrei assisted by his sons, fourth generation of the family: Marianna, Gianni, Greta e-Zoe Kim.

From 2000 a new challenge, the’Hotel Ca’ Pisani that, Kim told me how Serandrei, is inspired by the principles of "Design Hotels" reinterpreting the art deco style in a contemporary. Being a passionate story that retrieves antique pieces here and there, I was struck by how, with patience, Beds have collected original '30s and '40s, all different from each other.

Chatting sitting next to Kim, I have noticed his ability to "look beyond". Not all have the, is a skill that you purchase through the difficulties… which gives richness of mind and sensibility. Suddenly, while I told him about my habit of collecting rocks and stones in memory of the places I visit, mi have detto: "Cynthia guess? My mother is a geologist!”

Rossana Serandrei Barbero, a woman to the ground in a seaside town. I asked the reason for his choice of life, and, consequently his extensive studies related to the foundations of Venice, I updated the state of health of the city.

• My choice of life is easily explained. As a teenager I was madly in love with the mountain, of the rocks and, for extension, dell'arrampicata. I joined because I wanted to be a geologist geology in Tierra del Fuego. I studied for forty years underground in Venice and I can say that his health, compatibly with age, It can be described as good. Rossana Serandrei Barbero

During our talk of land and sea, that evening, celebrating fifty years of the history of "La Caravella", it Chef Silvano Urban told us about his cooking simple and respectful of tradition and high quality raw materials.

“Today we talk about food in many ways: we move from show food to the food art, from media food to the concept food up to the food design. In my view the time has come to back to basics, or to a kitchen in which the research is based precisely on the study of product, without vulgarity, without excess and the desperate attempt to spettacolizzare at all costs.”

At the end of my story I want to bring the recipe for the main dish chosen by Chef Silvano Urban, a dish of traditional.

Bigoli and salsa, served warm with creamed leeks and fried bread

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

• 200 g of onions;
• half a cup of olive oil;
• sale as just;
• 300 g of dark bigoli (whole wheat spaghetti);
• 75 g of salted anchovies;
• a pinch of pepper;
• bread crumbs.

Procedure:

Peel the onions and slice finely. Then, pour half the oil in a pan and add the onions; let them dry on low heat. Bake in covered container, for about 15 minutes, wetting the onions occasionally with a little 'water (not more than a glass throughout), stirring the mixture until it will be reduced to a pulp. Meanwhile, put on the fire water for cooking pasta: just bubbles, add salt and the pasta.

When the onions are cooked, add the anchovies previously washed, desalted and boned; mash with a fork repeatedly, until a brown sauce. Then turn off the heat and add the remaining oil to the sauce, mixing. Drain bigoli, rovesciateli in a bowl, toss with the sauce and the fried bread crumbs.

Cut into rounds 200 grams of leek; let it dry with a little olive oil and a little water. Correct the mixture of salt and when it is cooked, whisk all getting a soft cream, but sustained, that will accompany the recipe. Finally, completed the dish with bread crumbs and fried extra virgin olive oil

The addition of the last ingredient, or leeks, aims to mitigate the strong taste of anchovies. "It 'a dish explained by the same chef,  that makes no compromises with modern culinary visions ".