Cuisine in Aosta, Italy can be described in one word – comforting. Due to the city’s location in the alpine region of the Aosta Valley, the food served throughout the city’s charming restaurants and cafés is hearty, filling, and perfect for warming up after a cold day in the mountains.

The cuisine combines starches such as rice, potatoes, polenta, and bread with decadent cheeses, rich milk, and hearty meats such as cured meat, sausages, beef, and game. The style of cooking is a fusion of traditional Italian techniques with mountain flair from the Italian Alps and French influences.

To ensure a local specialty, be sure to look for the words Valdostana or Valdôtaine in the name of the dish on the menu. This is one way to indicate a traditional regional recipe.

APPETIZER

As with other regions throughout Italy, the appetizer course in Aosta typically consists of local cheeses, seasonal vegetables, and cured meats. Key meats of the region include salame, sausages, and prosciutto.

Fondue is one of the Aosta Valley’s most traditional and delicious appetizers. A simple recipe of creamy, melted fontina cheese – the signature cheese of the region – fondue is used as a dip for crusty bread, salty cured meats, vegetables, and fruit. Made from the milk of local Valdostan cows, fontina is a semisoft cheese with a mild, savory flavor. When aged for longer periods of time, the cheese acquires a distinct nutty and tangy flavor.

In addition to fontina, other cheeses that are commonly eaten as appetizers or alongside meals in Aosta include Fromadzo, Toma di Gressoney, Reblec, Brossa, Seras (a type of ricotta), Salignon (also a type of ricotta), and goat cheese.

FIRST COURSE

Despite its location in Italy, where pasta is the star of the first course, pasta is not a staple food in the Aosta Valley. This is likely due to the region’s far-north location, bordering France and Switzerland. Traditionally, the people of the area relied heavily on hearty stews, soups, and filling meat dishes to make it through harsh winters.

As a result, the main starch components of meals in Aosta are polenta and potatoes. One of the most traditional recipes of the region is polenta concia, yellow conrmeal polenta cooked with fontina and melted butter, that may be featured throughout the meal.

Potatoes are the star of local dish gnocchi alla bava. The hearty dish features potato dumplings (gnocchi) served with a rich sauce made from melted fontina cheese, milk, and black pepper or nutmeg.

Another key starch in Aosta is rice. Typical rice dishes in the area include riso e castagne con latte (rice with chestnuts and milk) and riso e fontina (rice with fontina cheese).

Various soups that travelers must try when in Aosta include regional specialties like Vapelenentse soup, made with stale bread, fontina, butter, savoy cabbage, meat, and vegetable stock and cogne soup, a rice-based soup made with bread, fontina, butter, and stock. Another popular soup is seupa de gri, a barley soup made with seasonal vegetables, potatoes, salt pork, and onions.

Crespelle alla Valdostana is a local specialty consisting of crepes filled with fontina cheese and prosciutto. The crepes are topped with a generous amount of fontina cheese and bechamel sauce prior to serving.

SECOND COURSE

For the heartiest course of the meal in Aosta, travelers can expect to enjoy meats like beef, veal, rabbit, and game, all cooked simply with local, seasonal produce.

Some of the quintessential dishes of the region include carbonade (beef stewed with red wine, onions, and spices), suede civet (game stew served atop polenta or potatoes), and Valdostana ribs (breaded rib veal chops stuffed with fontina cheese, prosciutto, and parsley that are fried in butter and often topped with cheese).

Another local favorite is chamois stew, which is made by simmering chamois meat with carrots, celery, herbs, spices and Valdostana red wine. The dish is typically served with polenta or potatoes.

SIDE DISHES

In addition to polenta and potatoes, meat dishes in Aosta may be accompanied by vegetables such as chicory, turnips, and squash blossoms.

STREET FOOD

While walking the city streets of Aosta, travelers can enjoy food from local bars and restaurants as well as quick bites like traditional gnocchi dumplings – a regional specialty.

DESSERTS

No meal is complete without something sweet. In Aosta, travelers can delight in a variety of regional specialties.

The most common of which is tegole – sweet, thin, disc-shaped cookies made of hazelnuts, almonds, and vanilla. The cookies are commonly served throughout the region alongside cogne cream, a sweet, thick dessert made with cream, sugar, and chocolate. Other beloved cookies in Aosta include torcetti, ring-shaped cookies made with butter and sugar or butter and honey.

Other common desserts are pastries with honey and ice cream with a variety of fillings. A unique sweet of the Aosta Valley is chestnut honey, which can be purchased in local food shops. However, the most iconic dessert of the area is most likely blanc-manger, a white pudding made with milk.

Dessert throughout Italy is often served with coffee, and Aosta is no exception. In the Aosta Valley, a special coffee experience that travelers must try is the friendship cup. An Aostan tradition, the coffee is made with sugar, lemon zest, and is infused with grappa.

It’s served in a unique pot called coppa dell’amicizia (friendship cup), which features multiple spouts. The tradition is to serve each guest from the pot, one at a time, in a counterclockwise direction, using the various spouts.

WINES

The Aosta Valley sits in a unique micro-climate that allows winemakers to grow grapes despite the area’s high elevation.

The Aosta Valley produces over 20 varieties of DOC wines, among which are whites such as Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle, Chambave Muscat, and Chardonnay. Notable reds from the Aosta Valley include Pinot Noir, Fumin, and Donnas.

Travelers can explore the Valle d’Aosta Route des Vins, a route that takes visitors to local vineyards and wine cellars to learn about the region’s specialty wines and mountain growing experience. Of course, tastings and food pairings can be enjoyed as well, elevating the experience.

Local spirits common in Aosta are grappa and genepi – both of which are perfect for warming up after a day of skiing or enjoying the sites.

Discover the rich cuisine of the city of Aosta, which features plenty of local cheeses, meats, and produce. In a region dominated by the Alps, hearty dishes such as soups, gnocchi, polenta, and stews abound.