All the flavours of Trentino winter on your plate!
Traditional recipes for comfort food in the chilly season
The colder weather always brings us a bigger appetite with a readiness to try new flavours, and makes us want to share joyous moments with our loved ones in the warmth of our homes.
Richer dishes with stronger tastes, food that can provide the energy needed to face the harsher days and fill up on essential nutrients to strengthen our immune system.
Aromas and flavours that can take us back in time or open new frontiers for our senses, and new possibilities in our everyday.
From starters to desserts, we have selected simple, treasured recipes especially for you, from the best of Trentino gastronomic tradition. Flavours created in an ancient land of mountains and snow, which continues to renew itself without ever forgetting its origins.
Smoked trout and apple mousse
To begin with a selection of flavours, there is nothing better than this mousse that opens the palate with the muted sweetness of smoked trout and the crispness of a Trentino Granny Smith apple. The whole dish is wrapped in the harmony of the delicate and refined Trentino Garda olive oil, which delivers aromas of hay, almond, artichoke and thistle.
Peta de pan, formai e speck
The peta (“pie” in the Trentino dialect), made from leftovers, is made into a balanced and very tasty hot pastry that heralds the arrival of more substantial dishes in the subsequent courses. The recipe’s secret is its Fassa cheese, tasty but never intrusive, which should be enjoyed with fragrant speck ham. If you want to go further, you can also bring a separate platter to the table, filled of course with Trentino Quality brand cured meats and cheeses
Canederli
Timeless, never the same, and always delicious. Every family passes down its own secret ingredient, but despite what you may think, they are very easy to make. This is the traditional recipe, but we are sure that you too will enjoy inventing a variation that will make your bread dumplings unique to you. They can also be enjoyed drizzled with butter and topped with speck ham, but our advice is to soak them in a tasty home-made broth.
Buckwheat mezzelune with apple and speck ham
Trentino has its own pasta ravioli too. Fassa Cajoncie, filled with potato, are a famous example. Today we present a version that is easy to make but with a delicious taste that is certain to have your guests asking how you did it! Buckwheat, speck ham, ricotta and, wait for it, Golden Delicious apples! A mouth-watering first course and, we can promise you, 100% Trentino!
Potato polenta
You can be assured that this is no ordinary polenta. In Trentino, too, polenta has fed generations. In Storo, in our Giudicarie valleys, an exceptional maize flour is produced. There, in Val di Ledro, it is traditional to prepare this truly precious and tasty recipe that we suggest as an alternative to a rich first course or, even, as a standalone dish.
Potato tortel
A dish so tasty that absolutely everyone likes it. Serve as a second course in smaller quantities, or as a standalone dish in big portions, because it will go down a treat. Crispy potato pancakes that you can accompany with cured meats, mature cheeses, fresh or pickled vegetables, beans... or for those with a sweet tooth, even jam.
Braised beef in Marzemino wine
In case you have been left with a craving for polenta, what better than succulent braised beef cooked in Marzemino, a quintessential Trentino wine, with its intense colour and aromas of violets and spices? Here we present a simple version that we recommend following step by step, not just making it up, because the wine will really make this dish. The cut of meat will make a difference, but remember that each grape variety also exhibits different aromas and fragrances when cooked.
Ending on a sweet note
Dessert, the last course before literally clearing the table – desservir in French – can be fruit, sugar or even cheese, depending on the menu and season. But in winter, our craving for dessert does not run according to any schedule, and after a perfect lunch or dinner we desire it even more! For the festive season we have collated the most traditional recipes of our local area, with a few gourmet twists.
