Tendon salad with Venetian-style onion, is a typical dish from Venetian “bacari” and inns throughout Veneto, and if you have tried cicchetti in typical Veneto venues you have surely tried these as well. When I was a child and my mother prepared them, I never ate them, but as I grew older, I decided to try them, and I must say I was won over, they don’t have a precise flavor; instead, they take on the flavor of the seasoning they are prepared with, and we Venetians add a lot of onion, and they are a delight. In Venetian cuisine, many dishes use little-known and less prized animal parts as the main ingredient, and they are greatly enhanced, such as tripe, liver, or heart. Nowadays, in many supermarkets or butcher shops, you can also find pre-cooked nervetti which are very quick to cook and very tasty, and if you’re wondering how to season the already cooked tendons, I recommend seasoning them as I suggest in this recipe. Tendons are the tendons from the bovine’s legs that connect the leg to the knee, it’s the cartilage of the knee and shank of veal or beef. Now let’s see how to prepare the tendons, and if you try them, let me know. Barbara
I recommend trying other traditional Venetian recipes as well:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1.1 lbs Tendons
- 1 White onion
- Lemon juice (or vinegar)
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil
- to taste Parsley
- to taste Salt
- to taste Pepper
How to prepare Tendon Salad with Venetian-style Onion
Let’s proceed with preparing the tendon salad, thoroughly wash the tendons under running water and place them in a large pot with water until fully covered. Add a pinch of salt and the juice of half a lemon or a tablespoon of vinegar. The cooking time varies; if they are precooked, 10/15 minutes are enough, otherwise, it takes about 3 hours if they are not precooked.
After the cooking time, drain them, cut them into small pieces, and place them in a bowl.
Clean the onion and slice it very thinly; I do it with a mandoline to have thin and even slices, then add it to the bowl with the tendons. Clean and wash the parsley, chop it finely and add a sprinkle. Season with abundant extra virgin olive oil, pepper, and adjust the salt.
Mix well to combine everything well, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, refrigerate and let rest for at least 2 hours before serving the tendon salad with Venetian-style onion. If, after resting in the fridge, the tendons are stuck together, don’t be alarmed, mix well, and they will separate. If you leave the tendons in the fridge overnight, you’ll find them stuck together; leave them at room temperature for a few hours, or you can warm them in the microwave or put the bowl in a bain-marie.
How to store tendon salad
Store in the refrigerator for 2 days
