This region lies to the extreme north-east of Italy and borders with Austria. In truth, the cooking of Altro Adige is almost completely Austrian in nature, with pasta, for example, making only a minor appearance in traditional cuisine. Next door in Trentino, however, the cuisine is more recognizably Italian with polenta appearing in its many guises. Pork is common (think of the wonderful speck), as are mushrooms and chestnuts, and the vast Alpine pastures ensure there are some fine cheeses such as the delicious Vezzena. Another of Trentino’s most prized products is the apple, with this region supplying most of Italy with a delicious range of varieties. Sweets and desserts are excellent and often Austrian in origin as can be seen by their names: strudel, zelten and krapfen.
Traditional dishes:
Polenta e Funghi: Polenta with Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 400 g yellow polenta flour
- 750 ml milk
- 750 ml water
- 500 g wild mushrooms
- Butter
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- White wine
- Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Gently clean the mushrooms and cut into pieces.
- Heat 50 g butter and a tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the garlic until it turns golden brown.
- Throw in the mushrooms, toss well for a couple of minutes then douse with the white wine.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, adding a little water or broth if necessary.
- Stir in the chopped parsley.
- Meanwhile, pour the milk into a large pan and add 750 ml water.
- Bring to the boil, salt, and slowly pour in the polenta flour in a steady stream, stirring continuously.
- Cook the polenta over a low-medium heat for about 45 minutes or the time indicated on the packet, stirring continuously.
- Once ready, pour the polenta into 4 deep serving dishes.
- Create a well in the center of each serving and fill with the mushrooms and their juices.
- Serve immediately.
Number of servings (yield): 4
Canederli allo Speck en Brodo: Speck Dumplings in Broth
Ingredients
- 4 small stale bread rolls
- 150g speck, diced
- 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups hot milk
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 50 g butter
- 75 g flour
- 1¼ liters beef broth, very hot
- 2 tbsp chives, chopped
Instructions
- Cut the bread rolls into small pieces and place them in a large terracotta pot.
- Add the speck and the parsley.
- Beat the eggs with the milk and pour over the bread mixture.
- Mix well and leave to ‘rest’ for 30 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the onion until it is soft and transparent.
- Add the fried onion to the bread mix along with the flour and season well with salt and pepper.
- Mix well and form a series of small balls by rolling the mixture between your palms.
- Cook dumplings for about 15 minutes in a large pan of salted water, then drain.
- Divide the hot broth between the serving dishes, add the cooked canederli and garnish with the chopped chives.
Number of servings (yield): 4-6
Cervo al Ginepro: Venison in Juniper Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 kg cubed venison
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 rib of celery, chopped
- 2 cloves
- 8 juniper berries
- Small sprig of rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1½ glasses of dry red wine
- 50 ml olive oil
Instructions
- Place the venison in a large bowl with the vegetables, cloves, juniper berries, rosemary, bay leaves and wine and leave to marinade overnight in the refrigerator.
- The next day, drain the meat from the marinade.
- Heat the olive oil in a large terracotta pot.
- Sear meat until the venison has browned on all sides.
- Add the marinade and the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook over a low heat for about 2 – 2 ½ hours or until the venison is tender.
- Remove the meat from the pot and keep warm, and discard the rosemary and bay leaf.
- Meanwhile, push the remaining juices and vegetables through a vegetable mill to make the sauce.
- Serve the venison hot and cover with the sauce.
Number of servings (yield): 6
Fritto di Mele: Fried Apples
Ingredients
- 4 apples
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Fine breadcrumbs
- Olive oil for frying
- Icing sugar
Instructions
- Peel and core apples and cut into slices.
- Dip them in the beaten egg, then in the breadcrumbs.
- Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan and fry the slices, two at a time until golden brown all over.
- Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
- Serve hot, sprinkled with icing sugar.
Number of servings (yield): 4
Kastanientorte: Chestnut Cake
Ingredients
- 1 kg chestnuts
- 25o g sugar
- 6 eggs, separated
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 500 ml whipped cream
Instructions
- Boil the chestnuts until cooked, then peel and push through a vegetable mill to obtain a purée, reserving a handful of whole chestnuts for the decoration.
- Beat the sugar with the egg yolks until pale and fluffy.
- Whisk three of the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage.
- Gently fold the egg whites into the sugar mix, then incorporate the chestnuts. (Reserve three unused whites for other use).
- Place mix in a well buttered round cake tin and bake at 300ºF for about 45 minutes.
- Allow to cool.
- Once cool, slice the cake into two layers and spread about half of the whipped cream over the bottom layer.
- Place the other layer on top and spread remaining cream around sides and over the top of cake.
- Decorate with the reserved chestnuts.
Number of servings (yield): 1 cake