Situated in north-west Italy, Valle d’Aosta is one of the country’s most mountainous regions. The area’s cuisine is based very much on local ingredients and as such, contains an abundance of vegetables such as cabbage, and makes much use of slow cooked stocks to prepare all types of soups that almost always include slices of stale rye bread. Chestnuts abound and local cheeses such as fontina and robiola are popular all over Italy. Game is excellent here and can include hare, pheasant and venison depending on the season .
Traditional dishes:
Zuppa alla Valdostana: Valdostana Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small savoy cabbage
- 2 tbsp butter
- 50 g pancetta, diced
- 50 g prosciutto crudo, diced
- 4 slices of country style bread
- 100 g Fontina cheese, sliced
- 1 liter beef broth, hot
- 1 clove of garlic
Instructions
- Remove leaves from cabbage, rinse well and cut into pieces, removing central the rib.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter in a large frying pan and add the pancetta and the cabbage.
- Cover and cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes. Toast the bread and cut into small pieces.
- Halve the clove of garlic and rub it over the inside surface of a large terracotta oven dish.
- Arrange a layer of bread at the bottom of the dish.
- Cover with some of the cabbage mixture.
- Add a little of the diced prosciutto and some of the Fontina cheese, lightly seasoning with salt and pepper along the way.
- Continue with other layers, finishing with a layer of cheese.
- Pour over the boiling beef broth and dot the top with the remaining butter.
- Bake at 350ºF for about 30 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.
- Serve immediately
Number of servings (yield): 4
Minestra di Castagne: Chestnut Soup
Ingredients
- 250 g dried chestnuts
- 250 ml milk
- 100 g rice
- 60 g butter
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Boil the dried chestnuts in water for 10 minutes then drain and discard water.
- Put them in a pan with the milk, the bay leaves and enough water to cover.
- Simmer until chestnuts are almost tender.
- Add the rice and the butter.
- Season with salt.
- Simmer until rice is cooked.
- Adjust seasoning and serve.
- (Some serve with a final sprinkling of sugar!)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Polenta al Forno: Baked Polenta
Ingredients
- 400 g polenta flour
- 500 ml milk
- 100 g Grana (cheese), grated
- 350 g mature Fontina cheese, sliced
- 100 g butter
Instructions
- Pour the milk into a thick bottomed pan along with a liter of water and bring to the boil.
- Salt, and slowly pour in the polenta flour, stirring continuously to prevent the formation of lumps.
- Cook the polenta, stirring continuously, for 45 minutes or until it is ready.
- Turn the cooked polenta out on to a clean work surface and allow it to cool.
- Once cool, cut into thin slices.
- In a large buttered ovenproof dish form a layer of polenta.
- Season with pepper and a sprinkling of Grana, dot with a little butter and cover with slices of Fontina.
- Repeat layers, finishing with a layer of Fontina dotted with a little butter.
- Bake at 350ºF for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve while warm.
Number of servings (yield): 4-6
Fonduta: Fondue
Ingredients
- 400 g Fontina
- 250 g whole milk
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 egg yolks, beaten
- White pepper
Instructions
- Cut the Fontina into thin slices and soak for at least 4 hours in the milk in a large thick bottomed pan.
- Place pan over a low heat, add the butter and stir with a metal whisk until the cheese has completely melted.
- Add the egg yolks and continue whisking over the heat until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Remove from heat, season with white pepper and pour into a fondue pot placed over a flame.
- Place at the center of the table.
- This fondue is normally eaten by dipping cubes of stale bread into the cheese, but you could also use lightly cooked vegetables.
- A final grating of white truffle turns this into a really special dish.
Number of servings (yield): 4
Blanc Manger: Vanilla Cream
Ingredients
- 2 sheets gelatin
- 500 ml cream
- 60 g sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
Instructions
- Place the gelatin in a small bowl of water and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
- Place the cream in a pan with the sugar and the opened vanilla pod.
- Bring to the boil, whisking well, then allow to cool a little.
- Squeeze the gelatin of extra water, add to the cream and stir until it has completely dissolved.
- Discard vanilla pod.
- Pour cream into individual molds and leave to cool for at least three hours in the refrigerator before serving.
Number of servings (yield): 6