Rialto Market - Venice Part 2

In the centre of Venice there were just a few flower shops and a few seeds for sale. You can see just a small variety of lovely tomato seeds.
I love learning new things! In the Rialto market were these bunches of 'Bruscandoli' for sale everywhere. I couldn't quite imagine what they were until I just did a bit of research online. Bruscandoli are the new growing shoots of the hop vine. The 8" at the top of the vine, and these are the hop vines that make the hops used in beer making. This Bruscandoli is cut and sold in bunches in the market just for a few weeks in April. If you look closely at the photo above you might recognize a few of the small leaves. A very traditional Venetian dish is to make a risotto using these green shoots which are chopped into smaller lengths and added to the risotto. WOW! I have to try this! Matron is headed to her nearest hedgerow to find some of these and try it out!
Globe artichokes are sold in different ways in the Rialto market. Here they are sold trimmed and chopped, either using the very small globes 'carciofini', or cutting the hearts of the larger globes 'a la Romani'. It does seem like a waste to me, the leaves are trimmed by the stallholders and just discarded! They are displayed here in salt water to stop them spoiling.
The fish market in the Rialto is just a delight! So utterly, completely, totally fresh and shining. Just look at these amazing sole!
This is known as 'San Petre' or Saint Peter's fish. You can see the black spot on the side of the fish, this is supposed to be the thumb mark made by Saint Peter (the fisherman!). This type of fish is known here in the UK as a John Dory.
Venice is truly a beautiful city.
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