QUALITALY 141

August /September 2024 XIV MAGAZINE The Aosta Valley’s territory is entirely mountainous, with villages perched on rocks and housewives jealously guarding culinary traditions. The region’s typical dishes include whole grains, hearty soups, polenta and buttery biscuits. The people of Valle d’Aosta are attached to local products and consume mainly cheese, meat and derivatives from cattle and goats, potatoes, chestnuts, apples, turnips, rye and rice. Some products are famous beyond its borders, such as Fontina PDO, used for fondues and polenta concia, goat cheese, tome, salami and the well-known lard from Arnad PDO. For our gastronomic journey, we are accompanied by Giovanni Porretto, Executive Chef of La Chandelle Restaurant in Cervinia. Trained in the most prestigious kitchens in Italy and around the world, Giovanni creates unique dishes with selected local meats: beef such as fassona, scottona, angus, and other typical meats such as lamb, venison, venison and duck. THE CUISINE OF VALLE D’AOSTA Cheese and meat are the stars of the local cuisine, and the herds, spread throughout the region, confirm this trend. Following tradition, the animals are housed in the winter, while in the summer, almost all female cattle, sheep and goats go up to the mountain pastures at different altitudes, following the vegetative cycle of the pastures. The Valle d’Aosta breed is the most widespread cattle variety in the region, also reared in the neighbouring provinces of Turin and Cuneo. Throughout the area, cattle breeding involves numerous small and medium- sized family farms, with an average of 17.51 cows and 32.46 animals per herd. The organisation of these holdings is particular: it involves more than one land type distributed between the valley, the mayen (intermediate zone between the valley and the mountain pasture) and the mountain pasture itself. Techniques and traditions handed down from father to son have made the slaughtering, cheese production and culinary sectors flourish. This is well known by our chef Giovanni Porretto, who, with flair and expertise, creates unique dishes based on meat sourced directly from selected farms in Valtournenche and Piedmont. And then there is the cheese, Fontina, typical of the Aosta Valley. This cheese, a Protected Designation of Origin excellence, has a sweet flavour and a soft, melting texture. The Consorzio Produttori e Tutela della Fontina DOP (Consortium of Producers and Protection of Fontina PDO) works tirelessly to defend and promote this typical cheese, continuing a tradition that has been handed down for generations. In 2020, the Consortium had 169 members and branded around 400,000 Fontina rounds per year. Produced with milk from three breeds of Valdostan cows, the rounds of Fontina AOC weigh between 7.5 and 12 kilos. This cheese is ideal for fillings, to cream polenta, to season spaghetti alla valdostana or as a filling for poached eggs. Other products from the north-west valleys that have been awarded the PDO mark are Fromadzo, a unique cheese, semi-sweet when fresh, slightly salty and sometimes a little spicy when matured; Jambon de Bosses, a raw ham spiced with mountain herbs produced at an altitude of 1,600 metres, and Lardo di Arnad, a pork shoulder lard also spiced with mountain herbs. TYPICAL DISHES Soups are very popular in Valle d’Aosta. Some boast Swiss and French origins, such as parmantier, a soup of diced potatoes with leeks, cream and chives. These mountain dishes, made with maize or rye flour and served with cheese, are ideal for warming and refreshment after long walks or days on skis. It should be noted that wheat is scarce in the region, and the use of rice is limited to the Val di Cogne area, due to the Piedmontese origin of the inhabitants. Among the signature dishes of Valle d’Aosta is, of course, polenta concia, prepared with yellow maize flour, butter and cheese for a hearty and tasty dish, perfect to accompany stews and roasts. Another typical soup is the Valpellinese, or Valle d’Aosta soup, made with stale rye bread, cabbage leaves, blanched savoy cabbage and fontina cheese. Among the first courses in Valle d’Aosta are fresh pastas, which are particularly popular. And the menu at Giovanni Porretto’s restaurant also features several of them, including agnolotti del plin with beef reduction, tagliolini, pappardelle and tagliatelle with venison ragout. The chef combines the tradition of Italian cuisine with that of the Aosta Valley. ‘Mine is a cuisine with a strong Italian identity, with a Valle d’Aosta base but with an international view,’ Porretto explains. The three most representative Valtournenche dishes on his menu are polenta with braised beef, spaghetti alla valdostana and Valpellina soup. Our gastronomic journey can only end with the typical desserts of the region, prepared according to recipes handed down from generation to generation. The Tegole Valdostane, the Crema di Cogne and the Mécoulin, desserts that are also present in the assorted trolley of La Chandelle restaurant along with Creme Caramel, Pavlova, Charlotte, Saint Honoré, Tiramisù, Sacher and Budin, the typical Valle d’Aosta pudding.