Garda Riviera Cuisine: Risotto with Tench and Chestnut Soup
Risotto with tench and chestnut soup are the culinary “flags” of the Veronese Riviera del Garda.
These two dishes were selected by the guide “Itinerari del gusto” from the series “Garda Pocket” published by the Comunità del Garda and curated by gastronome journalist Ettore Peretti, to represent the Riviera of the olive trees.
History and origin of risotto with tench
“In the 1500s, rice cultivation was introduced on the Garda Riviera,” explains Peretti, “and rice paddies were also present near Garda.
In the immediate inland area of this important tourist center, there is indeed a place name that recalls these fields: Risare.”
Within the rice paddies, tench were introduced, which in that environment found a natural habitat to reproduce.”
“Hence,” Peretti continues, “the historical origin of risotto with tench, which has come down to our days and characterizes the cuisine of the middle and lower Veronese Benaco.”
However, the rice paddies were dismantled by the Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia around 1640.
It was mistakenly believed that they caused epidemics, especially the plague.”
According to the original recipe, rice should be seasoned with the innards of the tench: “Once, fish entrails were used for this purpose,” Peretti clarifies, “and they do give the rice an intense and pleasant flavor, which I have personally experienced, while the rest of the tench meat was served separately in a stew.”
The culture of San Zeno di Montagna chestnuts
Another cornerstone of Veronese Riviera culinary culture is the San Zeno di Montagna chestnuts, a key ingredient of chestnut soup, a dish elected as a symbol of the Upper Garda Veronese and Baldo area.
“The San Zeno di Montagna chestnuts have the particularity of containing, in extraordinary balance, both sugars and tannins.
Due to this unique characteristic, these fruits from Baldo can enhance the flavor of a dish which, in recent years, has been rightly re-evaluated and represents the mountain variant of the classic Venetian bean soup.”
Traditional products and culinary traditions
Both the risotto with tench and the chestnut soup offer the opportunity to sample other typical products of the Garda area: wines and extra virgin olive oil.
“To preserve these important culinary traditions of the Garda region, there are no alternatives,” says Peretti again, “Veronese and tourists must support and protect them; at the table, of course.”
These and other recipes, along with many useful indications and information about typical products and the gastronomy of Garda, are contained in “Itinerari del Gusto,” which is distributed free of charge throughout the Benaco area.