Venice, Veneto
The Venetian Lenten pasta: bigoli (thick, rough-textured whole wheat spaghetti extruded through a bronze die on the torchio, the Venetian pasta press) dressed with a slow-cooked sauce of white onions and desalted anchovies dissolved completely in olive oil. The Lenten character of the dish — no meat, no dairy — is historic; it was served on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Christmas Eve. The anchovies must dissolve entirely into the onion sauce, leaving no visible fish — only the umami.
Rough wheat pasta coated in a silky sauce of dissolved anchovies and sweet collapsed onion — the Venetian Lenten discipline producing one of the most flavourful pasta sauces in Italy
{"Bigoli extruded through a bronze die creates the rough surface that holds the sauce","Onions: very thinly sliced white onions, cooked in olive oil over the lowest heat for 45–60 minutes until completely collapsed and sweet","Whole salt-packed anchovies desalted 30 minutes in cold water; filleted and added to the onion oil","Stir constantly over low heat until anchovies dissolve completely into the oil — 5–10 minutes","Toss pasta in the sauce with a ladleful of pasta water; the sauce must coat each strand"}
{"A splash of white wine added to the onions in the final 10 minutes of cooking lifts the sauce","Bigoli are best made the day before and dried overnight — the texture improves","Some Venetian cooks add a small amount of white wine vinegar at the end for a subtle agrodolce note"}
{"Under-cooking the onions — they must be completely collapsed, sweet, and golden, not still translucent","Anchovies in oil instead of salt-packed — the flavour is muted and they won't dissolve as cleanly","Using spaghetti instead of bigoli — the smooth surface doesn't hold the sauce the same way"}
La Cucina Veneziana — Giovanni Capnist