Typical Products & Traditional Food from Aosta Valley

Unlike much of Italy, pasta is not the staple food in this region.  The mountains and very cold winters results in the hearty cuisine of the Aosta Valley; filling starches and rich dairy products.  Local dishes include warming soups, polenta, black bread, gnocchi, rice and potatoes, risotto, cheeses and salami.   Fontina is probably the most famous cheese of the region, a fat cheese, partially cooked, made from cow's milk from a single milking. This cheese is also used for fondue or as a sauce for the typical Aosta Valley polenta.

Cheese and Tomatoes.... simple but wonderful italian dish
The risotto... an italian speciality
Polenta à la Valdostana, in Courmayeur
The famous italian pizza, you can eat this in Courmayeur
The fantastic italian Pasta, Courmayeurs restaurants
Some local dishes to try out:-
Risotto alla valdostana - made with fontina, toma and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses and rice to make the creamy risotto.
Seupa de gri is a barley soup made with seasonal vegetables and potatoes, seasoned with onions and salt pork
Polenta alla rascard - corn meal mush is chilled and sliced. These slices are then layered with a thick beef and sausage ragout and Fontina cheese
Capriolo alla valdostana - venison and vegetables are stewed in an herb flavored cream and grappa sauce
Carbonade- a beef stew made with salt preserved beef, onions and red wine and served with polenta
Fish - mountain stream grown trout is considered a special treat. Typical Aosta Valley recipes for fish might stuff trout fillets with ham and top with fontina, then poach in white wine.

Other products to try include Bosses de Jambon, a ham spiced with herbs of the mountain, produced at 1,600 meters of altitude, the Lardo di Arnad (bacon); the dried meat Motzetta, produced from beef, sheep or goat muscle.

And ofcourse the desserts: apple pie, chestnut honey, Mont Blanc ice cream, blueberry pie and much more.

The exceptional white wines of the area to try: The Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle from vineyards planted at the foot of the Mont Blanc at 1000 meters of altitude.  The cultivation area extends, as the name indicates, by the municipalities of Morgex and La Salle. The Blanc is produced by La Cave du Vin Blanc de Morgex and La Salle, a winery founded by a group of about 100 local producers.

Usually after dinner the locals present you with an original proposal: the Cup of Friendship -  magnificent work of art of carved wood, where they serve the typical Aosta Valley coffee, mixed with brandy and génépy.