M
y fascinationwithVenicegoesback
a longway.Manyyearsago,when
I wasjust 21 andhadcompleted
a 12-monthsabbaticalinSouthern
Italy,I foundmyselfonmywaytoLondon.I had
a littletimeupmysleeve,soI askedmylearned
oldercousin,LilianaDiCerto,foradviceonwhat
I thoughtwouldbea difficultquestion– where
shouldmynextstopinItalybe?I’dbeentoRome
andMilanseveraltimes,buthadn’tventuredfar
beyondthesecitiesorthesouthernregionof
Calabria,thebirthplaceofmyfather.“Liliana,
I onlyhavea fewdays.Wheredoyouthink
I shouldgo:Florenceor Venice?”Shedidn’t
hesitate.“Venice.YouaregoingtoVeniceandI
amgoingtoorganiseit.InFlorence,youhaveto
lineuptoseetheart.Yes,it’samazingwhenyou
getinandseeit,butinVenice,everythingis art.”
Andsomyobsessionwiththefloatingcity
wasborn.LittledidI knowthatVenicewould
continuetolureandinspiremefordecadesto
come.Sincemyfirstvisitasa wide-eyedItalo-
AustralianboyfromBunbury,WesternAustralia,
I’vebuilta careerasanItalianchefand
restaurateur, and returned frequently.OsteriaalleTestierepistachio cake
withpistachiogelato
SERVES8 // PREPTIME 30 MINS// COOK1 HR 30 MINS(PLUSCHILLING,COOLING)“OsteriaalleTestiere’sdessertsaresomeoftheverybestinVenice,
andnonemoresothantheirpistachiocake,”saysNinoZoccali.
Startthisrecipeonedayahead tomakethepistachiogelato.300 gmpistachio kernels,
skinon
6 eggs
250 gmcastersugar
150 gmsoftenedbutter,
plusextraforgreasing
100 gmpotatoflour,sifted
1 tspbakingpowder,sifted
Icingsugar,fordusting
PISTACHIOGELATO
500 ml(2cups)milk
5 eggyolks
50 gmhoney
150 gm(2/3cup)castersugar
100 gm(¾cup)pistachio
nuts,peeled
150 mlpouringcream
2 tbsppurepistachio paste
(seenote)1 Forpistachiogelato,bringmilk
toa simmerin a panoverlow
heat.Whiskeggyolks,honey
andsugarin a heatproofbowl
untilthickandcreamy.Pourmilk
overeggmixtureandstiruntil
combined.Placetheheatproof
bowlovera panofsimmering
waterand,stirringregularly,
bringto85°Cona pastry
thermometer(15-20minutes;
themixtureshouldcoatthe
backofa spoon).Strainmixture
througha finesieveintoa clean
container and chill overnightin therefrigerator.Process
pistachiosin a foodprocessor
untila finemeal.Lightlywhip
creamandfoldin pistachio
mealandpistachiopaste.
Placechilledmixturein a
gelatomachineandchurn
untiljustset,thenaddcream
andpistachiomixandchurn
againuntilset(2minutes).
Transfergelatointoa plastic
ormetalcontainerandstorein
thefreezeruntilreadytouse.
2 Preheatovento160°Cand
greaseandlinea 26cm-round
caketin.Processpistachiosin a
foodprocessoruntila finemeal.
Beateggsandsugaruntilpale,
thenbeatin butteruntilwell
combined.Combinepotato
flourandbakingpowderand
slowlyaddtomixture,then
graduallystirin pistachiomeal.
3 Pourmixtureintoprepared
tinandbakeuntilcookedanda
skewerinsertedintothecentre
ofthecakecomesoutclean
(55minutesto1 hour).Allow
caketocool,thenremovefrom
thetin.Oncecompletelycool,
dustcakewithicingsugar,
sliceandservewithgelato.
NotePurepistachiopasteis
availablefromNatural Moreish
(maxriver.com.au).Boatsin
Split,Croatia.
PREVIOUSPAGES
Left: Venice canals.