Traditional dishes:

Zuppa alla Valdostana: Valdostana soup

For 4 people

1 small savoy cabbage
2 tbsp butter
50 g each pancetta and prosciutto crudo, diced
4 slices country style bread
100 g Fontina cheese, sliced
1 liter beef broth, hot
1 clove garlic

Remove leaves from cabbage, rinse well and cut into pieces, removing central 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 all 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.

Minestra di castagne: chestnut soup

For 4 people

250 g dried chestnuts
250 ml milk
100 g rice
60 g butter
2 bay leaves

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 and season with salt. Simmer until rice is cooked. Adjust seasoning and serve. (Some serve with a final sprinkling of sugar!)

Polenta al forno: baked polenta

For 4 – 6 people

400 g polenta flour
500 ml milk
100 g Grana (cheese), grated
350 g mature Fontina cheese, sliced
100 g butter

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.

Fonduta: fondue

For 4 people

400 g Fontina
250 g whole milk
2 tbsp butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
White pepper

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. At this point 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.

Blanc Manger: vanilla cream

For 6 people

2 sheets gelatin
500 ml cream
60 g sugar
1 vanilla pod