Valle · D'Aosta Techniques

Polenta concia is the definitive expression of Alpine mountain cooking — a polenta so enriched with butter and aged mountain cheese that it ceases to be a simple grain porridge and becomes an almost elastic, intensely flavoured, dense preparation that is simultaneously pasta, bread, and side dish. It belongs to the food culture of the Valtellina, Aosta Valley, Friuli, and the pre-Alpine zones of Piedmont and Lombardy — wherever herders spent winters in mountain huts with access to little more than cornmeal, butter, and aged cheese. The term 'concia' means 'seasoned' or 'treated' in Italian — the polenta is not merely salted but fundamentally altered by the addition of large quantities of fat and cheese during the final stage of cooking. The cheeses used vary by region: Castelmagno DOP in the Cuneo area of Piedmont, Branzi or Bitto in Bergamo and the Valtellina, Fontina d'Aosta in the Valle d'Aosta. What they share is an aged Alpine character — firm, somewhat tangy, with a complexity derived from mountain milk produced by cattle grazing on high-altitude pasture. The polenta is made in the traditional manner — coarse-ground cornmeal whisked into boiling, salted water and stirred continuously for forty-five minutes to an hour until it is very thick and pulling from the sides of the copper pot. In the final ten minutes, cold butter — enormous quantities relative to the volume of polenta, often 100–150g per 500g of polenta — is worked in with the spoon. The grated cheese follows, incorporated by continuous stirring until it melts completely and the polenta becomes intensely creamy, slightly elastic, and takes on the golden hue of the butter fat. The finished polenta concia should be heavy, satisfying, and almost unctuous — it should sheet off a ladle in a thick, slow pour.

Boudin (the French name preserved in the bilingual valley) is the Valdostan blood sausage: pig's blood combined with cooked potatoes, lard, and a complex spice mix (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper, and fresh herbs) stuffed into natural casings and lightly smoked. Unlike the French boudin noir (which uses cream and sometimes apple), the Valdostan boudin uses potato as the primary extender — the cooked, mashed potato absorbs the blood and spice, creating a dense, firm sausage that slices cleanly and cooks without bursting. It is pan-fried in slices and served with boiled or roasted potatoes as a simple, direct mountain preparation.

Chamois (camoscio) from the Gran Paradiso massif hung for four to five days, butchered, then marinated for 48 hours in Valle d'Aosta red wine (Donnas or Torrette), juniper berries, bay, rosemary, thyme, black pepper and sliced vegetables. The marinated pieces are drained, dried, then browned in lard in a heavy casserole. The strained marinade is reduced by half and added back to the pan with the browned meat; the salmì braises covered for two to three hours over very low heat. The cooking juices are enriched with bitter chocolate (a classical alpine technique) and adjusted with salt. Served over polenta concia — polenta enriched with Fontina and butter — absorbing the dark, complex braising sauce.

Carbonada is the Alpine venison braise of Valle d'Aosta — thin slices of venison (or chamois, or beef in the modern version) marinated overnight in red wine with juniper berries, bay, rosemary, cloves, and cinnamon, then braised slowly in the marinade until falling-tender, the sauce reduced to a deep, spiced glaze. The preparation belongs to the broader Franco-Alpine sweet-spiced meat tradition (the 'carbonnade' of the French-speaking Alpine world) and reflects the medieval spice trade that passed through the Aosta valley en route to France. The name carbonada may derive from 'carbone' (charcoal) for the original cooking method, or from the Frankish 'charbonnade'.

The canonical alpine beef stew of Valle d'Aosta: thin slices of beef marinated in red wine with onions, cloves, cinnamon, and juniper berries for 24 hours, then slow-braised in the same marinade with butter and lard until the sauce reduces to a rich, wine-dark glaze. Served always on a mound of soft yellow polenta. The spice combination (cloves, cinnamon, juniper) reflects the medieval alpine spice trade through the Mont Blanc passes from Burgundy and France. Identical in concept to Burgundy's boeuf bourguignon but mountain-spiced.

Carbonada is the defining meat preparation of the Valle d'Aosta: thin-sliced beef (typically venison or beef topside in the traditional version) braised slowly in the mountain red wine of the valley — Torrette DOC or Enfer d'Arvier — with onion, lard, cinnamon, cloves, and bay. The result is dark, deeply savoury, and perfumed with Alpine spice. It is served over polenta — the corn polenta of the valley absorbing the wine-dark sauce. The dish reflects the valley's cold winters and its connections to both French Savoyard and Swiss Alpine cooking traditions.

The iconic Valle d'Aosta braise: thin slices of beef or veal browned in butter and braised slowly in full-bodied red wine (traditionally Donnas or Enfer d'Arvier — robust Aosta reds) until the sauce reduces to a glossy jus. Onions are cooked until caramelised before the meat is added. Related to the Savoyard and Belgian carbonnade, but without mustard or beer; the Valdostan version uses only wine, the region's cured meats for depth, and finishes with a knob of butter. Served on dark rye bread.

The defining second course of Valle d'Aosta bourgeois cooking: a thick (3 cm) veal chop butterflied to create a pocket, filled with a slice of Fontina DOP and optionally a slice of raw Valle d'Aosta ham (lardo or Jambon de Bosses). The pocket is pressed firmly shut and secured with toothpicks. The chop is dusted in flour, dipped in beaten egg, and pressed into fine breadcrumbs to create a thorough coating. It is then pan-fried in a generous quantity of clarified butter over medium-high heat — approximately four minutes per side — until deeply golden and the interior Fontina has melted. Served immediately with sautéed Valle d'Aosta mushrooms and braised seasonal vegetables.

Thick veal chops from the Valle d'Aosta, cut double-thick and sliced open as a pocket, filled with a slice of Fontina DOP and a slice of local prosciutto di Bosses, then breaded and fried in butter until golden. The Fontina melts inside the pocket during frying, creating a molten interior. Served immediately with lemon.

Cotoletta alla valdostana is the Valdostano interpretation of the Milanese breaded chop — a bone-in veal chop butterflied and filled with Fontina d'Aosta DOP and a thin slice of Prosciutto di San Daniele or Speck, then closed, pressed to seal, crumbed, and fried in clarified butter until the exterior is golden and the Fontina inside has melted to a pool. When the chop is cut, the Fontina flows from the centre. The preparation is a refined version of the 'cordon bleu' principle, entirely rebuilt around Valdostano ingredients. It is found in every trattoria in Aosta and in the ski resort restaurants of the valley.

Crème caramel is technically a French preparation that arrived in the Aosta valley through the Franco-Swiss-Italian Alpine cultural flow and became fully naturalised. The Valdostano version is distinguished by the addition of Génépy — the Alpine herb liqueur made from artemisia genepi, the high-altitude mountain plant that grows above 2,500 metres across the Alps. A splash of Génépy in the custard mixture, and sometimes a tablespoon used to flambé the caramel, gives the Valdostano crème caramel a distinctive alpine-herbal, slightly bitter-aromatic note. The custard itself is rich — whole eggs, cream, and full-fat milk in equal parts.

Valle d'Aosta's iconic cheese fondue — Fontina DOP thinly sliced and soaked in full-fat milk for minimum 2 hours, then slowly melted in a bain-marie with egg yolks until a smooth, flowing, golden custard-fondue forms: richer and more egg-forward than Swiss fondue, closer to a cheese cream sauce than a molten cheese pot. Served in the traditional copper pot with white truffle shaved over the top (when in season) or with toasted bread cubes, polenta, or gnocchi for dipping.

Fonduta valdostana is the definitive preparation of Fontina DOP — the great, fat, semi-soft Alpine cheese of the Valle d'Aosta, whose PDO specifications confine production to this single valley. Unlike Swiss fondue (which uses a blend of hard cheeses, white wine, and Kirsch), the Valdostan fonduta is made with Fontina alone, soaked in milk, then melted slowly with egg yolks and butter into a rich, unctuous, truffle-scented sauce. It is served in a fondue pot or cazuela, poured over polenta, bread, or alongside crudités. The result is deeper, richer, and more savoury than any Swiss preparation — a statement of one cheese's character rather than a blend.

The elemental Valle d'Aosta cheese preparation: Fontina DOP — the only cheese used, no substitutes — cubed and soaked in whole milk for two hours to soften and pre-hydrate. The cheese is then melted in a double boiler (bagnomaria) with butter, the soaking milk and egg yolks added progressively off direct heat. The technique demands patience: high heat causes the proteins to seize and the fat to separate. The resulting fonduta is poured over toasted rye bread (pane di segale) and sometimes finished with shaved white truffle from Alba when in season. Served as a primo piatto or as a sauce for gnocchi or polenta.

Valle d'Aosta's classic fonduta — not the Swiss cheese fondue but the Italian version from the Aosta valley: Fontina DOP soaked in milk overnight, then melted slowly with egg yolks and butter into a silky, pourable sauce. The egg yolks distinguish fonduta from fondue — they create an enriched, custardy consistency rather than the wine-and-starch fondue consistency. Shaved white or summer truffle is added over the warm fonduta at service. The fonduta is poured over polenta, poached eggs, or bruschetta depending on the occasion.

A thick, mountain-style frittata made with alpine eggs (darker yolks from pasture-raised hens), chopped fresh mountain herbs (thyme, marjoram, chive), cubed Fontina DOP and cooked in clarified butter in a well-seasoned iron pan. Unlike the Neapolitan frittata that is twice-flipped, the Valdostano frittata is started on the stove and finished in the oven, developing a slightly puffed, golden top.

Lard d'Arnad is the remarkable cured fatback of the Arnad valley in the Valle d'Aosta: thick strips of pork back fat, cured for a minimum of three months in stone or chestnut wood doïl (traditional wooden containers) in a brine of water, salt, rosemary, sage, laurel, juniper berries, and local mountain herbs. The result is pure, almost translucent white fat that melts on warm bread with the fragrance of Alpine herbs — one of the great cured products of Italy, and the only lard product with DOP status. It predates the more famous Lardo di Colonnata (Tuscany) in documentation.

Lard d'Arnad is the white back-fat from pigs raised in the Arnad municipality of the lower Aosta valley, cured for a minimum of 3 months in walnut wood vats (doils) with rock salt, rosemary, sage, juniper berries, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg — the spice mixture reflecting both the proximity to mountain herb cultivation and the medieval spice trade routes that passed through the Alpine passes. Unlike most cured fat preparations, Lard d'Arnad retains pure white fat with no rind development; its texture is yielding and silky when sliced thin; its flavour is clean and herbaceous. It has DOP status and production is limited to the Arnad municipality.

Lard d'Arnad is the cured back fat of pigs raised in the Aosta Valley, salted with mountain herbs (rosemary, sage, cinnamon, cloves, bay, nutmeg, juniper) and matured in traditional wooden boxes called doils made from chestnut or oak, submerged in a herbed brine for a minimum of 3 months. The fat becomes silky-white, aromatic, and spreadable at room temperature. It has DOP status and is produced only in the Arnad commune. Served in paper-thin slices on rye bread with honey.

Miacce are the buckwheat-and-wheat thin crêpes of the Valle d'Aosta, cooked on a special double-sided iron (the ferro per le miacce) that is heated in the embers and flipped with the crêpe still cooking inside — a technique unique to the valley. The batter uses a combination of buckwheat flour and wheat flour, eggs, water, and optionally a small amount of lard (which prevents sticking and adds flavour). The finished miaccia is thin, slightly crisp at the edges, and flavoured with the characteristic nutty-bitter note of buckwheat. Served with Fontina, jam, or honey — it is both a savoury vehicle and a sweet one, depending on the filling.

The classical Valle d'Aosta pairing of chestnut honey with fresh or semi-aged goat's cheese — a combination that requires no preparation beyond sourcing quality ingredients. Chestnut honey from the Aosta valley (miele di castagno di montagna) is intensely dark, bitter, and tannic — nothing like the neutral acacia honey used in most culinary contexts. The bitter, resinous chestnut honey against the acidic, tangy goat's cheese creates a contrast that is the defining flavour experience of the region. The technique is in the temperature management and the proportioning.

Minestrone valdostano is the valley's version of the Italian vegetable soup — substantially different from Ligurian or Lombard versions in its use of root vegetables specific to the alpine climate (parsnip, turnip, celeriac, leek) alongside the standard soffritto base, and in its finishing: the serving bowls are filled, topped with a thick slice of stale Valdostano rye bread and a generous slice of Fontina d'Aosta, then passed under the grill (or held near the fire) until the Fontina melts and bubbles over the soup. The result is a soup eaten through a blanket of melted alpine cheese — each spoonful combining the mineral broth with the string of Fontina.

Air-dried leg of chamois (or, more commonly today, beef or goat) cured with salt, juniper berries, rosemary and mountain herbs — the most ancient preserved meat of the Aosta Valley, made by shepherds and hunters to sustain themselves through winter. Sliced paper-thin and served with rye bread and Fontina, it is the definitive Valdostano antipasto. The chamois version has a deeper, more gamey flavour than the bovine substitute.

Mocetta (or motzetta) is the traditional cured game meat of the Valle d'Aosta: in its original and most prized form, the hind leg of chamois (camoscio) or ibex (stambecco) cured in a brine of juniper berries, rosemary, bay, black pepper, and mountain herbs for 30-60 days, then air-dried in the Alpine mountain air for an additional 60-90 days. The result is a dark, intensely flavoured dried meat with the concentrated essence of mountain game — lean, slightly gamey, with the complex herbal character of the Alpine brine. It is served thinly sliced with mountain cheese (Fontina) and dark rye bread. Beef and goat mocetta are now more common (chamois being protected), but the original chamois version remains the benchmark.

The Valdostan pâté de jambon (reflecting the French-influenced culinary vocabulary of the valley) is made from the off-cuts, trimmings, and pressed meat from the Lard d'Arnad and mocetta production — a terrine of cured ham, lard, and herbs, seasoned with the same mountain aromatics as the cured products themselves (rosemary, sage, juniper), set in cooking gelatine and served cold as an antipasto. It is the Valdostan expression of the nose-to-tail use of the pig's cured products — using everything that doesn't qualify as a whole DOP piece.

The terrine tradition in Valle d'Aosta reflects the region's Franco-Italian cultural position — the French-speaking valley (patois Valdôtain, a Franco-Provençal dialect, is still spoken in some villages) produced terrines and pâtés in the French tradition, filled with characteristically Valdostano ingredients: veal, Fontina d'Aosta, Lard d'Arnad, and local cured ham (jambon de Bosses DOP, a mountain-cured ham specific to the Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses commune). The terrine is made to serve cold at the start of a meal, sliced thin and accompanied by gherkins, grain mustard, and Valdostano rye bread. It is a preparation that exists nowhere else exactly — the French terrine technique filled with specifically Valdostano mountain ingredients.

The Aosta Valley's most beloved comfort preparation: polenta stirred with Fontina DOP Valle d'Aosta and butter until the cheese melts into the polenta in long strands. Unlike standard polenta with cheese added on top, 'concia' means the polenta is literally 'fixed' or 'set' with cheese — the Fontina must be incorporated during the final cooking so it melts into the polenta's starch matrix rather than floating on top. The result is a golden, stretchy mass that pulls apart in long, elastic strings when served. The Fontina used must be the mountain variety (alpeggio) from summer Alpine pastures.

Valle d'Aosta's richest winter preparation — coarsely ground polenta stirred for 45 minutes and then enriched with an extraordinary quantity of Fontina DOP (melted into the polenta at the end, off heat) and a full block of butter. When the cheese and butter are added, the polenta transforms from a firm porridge into a flowing, stringy, golden mass that drapes from the spoon. Nothing else is added. Nothing else is needed.

Polenta concia (or polenta grassa) is the definitive polenta preparation of the Alpine arc — coarse polenta cooked until very thick, then layered in a baking dish with generous amounts of Fontina d'Aosta DOP and beaten with cold butter until the cheese melts through and the polenta becomes almost unrecognisably rich, golden, and stringy. In Valle d'Aosta, Fontina is the mandatory cheese — its mountain-herb flavour and extraordinary melting quality make concia a preparation of its own category, completely different from plain polenta. The dish is served directly from the pot, scooped into bowls, the cheese pulling in long strands.

A warming autumn preparation from the Valle d'Aosta: creamy polenta topped with a sauté of fresh or dried porcini mushrooms and shaved Lardo di Arnad DOP. The mushrooms are cooked in butter with garlic and sage; the lardo is placed cold over the hot polenta immediately before service and melts on contact. The combination of earthy porcini, creamy polenta, and the cold lard's slow melt creates a dish that is quintessentially Alpine in its fat-and-fungus richness. In autumn, when porcini are fresh from the forests above Arnad, this is the definitive Valle d'Aosta meal.

A baked polenta gratin from the Aosta Valley — firm polenta sliced and layered with slices of luganiga sausage and Fontina DOP in a buttered baking dish, topped with more Fontina and baked until the cheese melts and the top caramelises to a golden crust. A winter staple that uses leftover polenta from the previous day.

The canonical polenta preparation of Valle d'Aosta, known locally as polenta grassa (fat polenta) or polenta concia. Stoneground yellow polenta — coarser than standard commercial maize flour — is cooked in salted water over a fire or induction plate, stirred continuously with a wooden paddle for 50–60 minutes until it comes away from the sides of the copper pot in a single mass. In the final ten minutes, generous quantities of diced Fontina DOP and cold unsalted mountain butter are added in stages, stirred in vigorously until fully incorporated and the polenta is shiny, very rich and pulls in long strings. Served immediately from the pot onto wooden boards or pre-warmed plates. Nothing else needed.

Sliced local soft cheese (in Aosta: Fromadzo or Reblochon-style alpine cheese) coated in egg and breadcrumbs and shallow-fried in butter until the coating is golden and the cheese inside is completely molten. Served over a thick round of grilled polenta or alongside grilled vegetables. A preparation found in the mountain huts (rifugi) where the simplicity of the cheese-in-butter-and-breadcrumbs technique was the foundation.

Risotto alla valdostana is the Aosta valley's interpretation of the Italian risotto — made with Carnaroli rice, cooked in a good meat broth, and finished with a generous quantity of Fontina d'Aosta DOP stirred in at the mantecatura stage, which melts through the rice to create a preparation of extraordinary richness and string. In the most luxurious version (autumn, October-November), shaved white truffle from the Piedmont side of the valley is added at the table. The Fontina mantecatura distinguishes this risotto from all others — the cheese's mountain-herb character and its exceptional melting quality produce a consistency that butter alone cannot approach.

Seupa à la valpellenentse (Valpelline soup) is the great baked bread soup of the Valle d'Aosta, closely related to but distinct from the zuppa di Valpelline: layers of stale mountain rye bread, Savoy cabbage, sliced Fontina, and thick slices of pork (in the richer version) or just bread-cabbage-Fontina (in the simpler version), assembled in a clay pot, soaked with abundant hot beef broth, and baked until the top is golden and crusted and the interior is unified. The distinguishing feature of the Valpellenentse version (from the Valpelline tributary valley) is the addition of pork, which transforms it from a vegetable-bread preparation into a complete meal. It is simultaneously the most ancient and the most satisfying winter preparation of the valley.

Valpelline's bread and Fontina soup — dark rye bread, Fontina DOP, and rich beef broth layered in a terracotta dish and baked until the top layer of cheese is browned and bubbly while the bread below has absorbed the broth completely. Named after the Valpelline valley, this preparation sits between a soup and a gratin — it is served from the dish in which it bakes, with each spoon containing a piece of broth-soaked bread and a thread of melted Fontina. One of the oldest preparations in the Valle d'Aosta canon.

The bread soup of Valpelline — layers of stale rye bread, blanched Savoy cabbage, and Fontina DOP cheese baked in beef broth until everything melds to a single unified mass of bread-cheese-cabbage in savoury liquid. The defining feature is the Fontina — as it bakes, it melts through the bread layers and creates strings of cheese through every spoonful. Prepared only in the autumn after the cattle descend from the high pastures and fresh Fontina becomes available. The mountain cheese, the winter cabbage, and the long-keeping rye bread constitute the full pantry of alpine winter.

The simplified everyday version of Zuppa Valpellinentze — a layered bread, verza and Fontina assembly baked in beef broth. Unlike the formal version with its precise layers, Seuppa de Valpelline is assembled more loosely in individual bowls: torn stale bread, rough Savoy cabbage pieces, cubed Fontina, then hot broth poured over and finished briefly under the grill. The Fontina melts into pools across the top.

Soupe à la Vapellenentse (or Soupe de Valpelline) is the classic winter soup of the Valpelline valley in Valle d'Aosta — a dish that transforms the peasant pantry staples (stale rye bread, Savoy cabbage, Fontina, beef broth) into a layered, baked preparation that is closer to a gratin than a soup. The soup is built in a heavy pot: layers of stale bread, blanched Savoy cabbage, and Fontina, moistened with good meat broth, then baked in the oven until the top is golden and the cheese is melted through. It is related to the broader Alpine tradition of soupe de chalet (chalet soup) and to the Valtellina sciàtt tradition, but the Fontina and the valley specificity make it distinctly Valdostano.

The iconic mountain soup of Valpelline valley: layers of stale rye bread, blanched savoy cabbage leaves and thin-sliced Fontina DOP are built up in a terracotta or oven-safe pot, each layer generously seasoned and buttered. A rich beef broth — made from marrow bones and oxtail — is ladled in to moisten all layers. The assembled pot is baked uncovered in a medium oven (160°C) for 45–60 minutes until the top is deeply golden, the bread has absorbed all liquid and the Fontina has melted throughout into long strands. Served directly from the baking vessel by the ladleful. This is winter sustenance at its most elemental — the soupe is both soup and casserole simultaneously.

Venison stew from the Valle d'Aosta with wild bilberries (mirtilli selvatici) — a mountain hunter's dish that pairs the lean, iron-rich deer meat with the forest fruit's tart sweetness. The venison (shoulder, cubed) is marinated in red Aosta wine (Enfer d'Arvier or Torrette) with juniper berries, bay, and rosemary for 24 hours, then braised slowly with the marinade, lard, and wild bilberries added in the final 20 minutes. The bilberries dissolve partially, staining the sauce deep purple-red and contributing acidity that cuts through the venison's richness.

Valle d'Aosta's mountain skewer feast — chunks of pork, veal, lamb, and lardo alternated on metal skewers and grilled over wild juniper wood or wood charcoal, seasoned only with salt, pepper, juniper berries, and rosemary. The lardo (from Lard d'Arnad DOP) bastes the lean meats as it renders under the heat. The result is pure mountain simplicity: excellent meat, exceptional cured pork fat, aromatic wood smoke.

The most celebratory of Valle d'Aosta's bread soups: layers of toasted rye bread, blanched Savoy cabbage, and Fontina DOP baked in a rich beef consommé, then finished in the oven covered with a béchamel-like milk-and-butter topping that gratinates to a golden crust. A variant of the Seuppa à la Vapeillentse but enriched with the béchamel finish — served at the Valpelline Sagra each September. Every layer must be distinct: the bread base absorbs the consommé, the cabbage provides vegetable body, the Fontina melts through, and the gratinated milk top provides a creamy counterpoint.

Not a recipe in the conventional sense but a technical discipline: the preparation and presentation of Valle d'Aosta's DOP-protected charcuterie, centred on Lardo di Arnad DOP — white fatback cured in arnad (stone or chestnut-wood vats) with rosemary, sage, garlic, and mountain spices for minimum 12 weeks. The lardo is sliced paper-thin and placed on warm bread or polenta where its fat melts on contact. Alongside: Mocetta (cured chamois or beef leg), Vallée d'Aoste Jambon de Bosses DOP, and local mountain cheeses. The technique is in the curing, the slicing, and the temperature management at service.

The apple tart of the Aosta valley reflects the region's Franco-Italian dual identity — the preparation is technically French (pâte sablée base, sliced apple fan, apricot glaze) but the filling uses local reinette or grenade varieties from the valley's protected orchards (Pomme Valdôtaine DOP, grown on terraced orchards at 700-1,200m altitude), and the accompaniment is a custard cream infused with Génépy. The reinette of Valle d'Aosta have a specific tartness and apple fragrance from the mountain climate — similar to Bramley in personality but smaller and more intensely flavoured. The Pomme Valdôtaine DOP designation protects this production.

A Valdostano honey and walnut tart on a thin pastry base — a preparation of Alpine simplicity using local wildflower honey and walnuts from the valley floor, baked until the honey caramelises into a dark, nutty filling. Related to the Swiss Engadinernuss tort and the French tarte aux noix de la Savoie — all descendants of the same Alpine walnut-in-honey pastry tradition.

Valle d'Aosta's signature biscuit — ultra-thin, curved wafers made by pressing a batter of ground almonds, hazelnuts, egg whites, sugar, and vanilla over a mould while still warm, producing a shape resembling a roof tile (tegola). The crisp, delicate wafer shatters like glass at the first bite, releasing an intensely toasted nut flavour and sweetness. Traditionally served alongside caffè valdostano (a communal coffee ritual using a carved wooden grolla cup passed between people).

Tegole ('roof tiles') are wafer-thin almond and walnut biscuits baked directly on a buttered baking sheet and lifted while warm to curve over a rolling pin, mimicking the curved terracotta roof tiles of Alpine chalets. They are a speciality of Courmayeur, designed as an accompaniment to dessert wines and digestifs. The dough is a simple tuile mixture: egg whites, sugar, butter, flour, with finely ground almonds and roughly chopped walnuts.

Named for the curved roof tiles (tegole) they resemble, these wafer-thin biscuits are a signature of Valle d'Aosta confectionery. The batter is made from very finely ground toasted hazelnuts and almonds combined with icing sugar, egg whites and a trace of vanilla; no flour, no butter and no leavening. A thin layer is spread onto a silicone mat or well-buttered baking sheet using a small offset spatula, each disc about 8 cm in diameter. Baked at 180°C for 6–8 minutes until pale gold, they are removed immediately from the oven and draped over a rolling pin or curved mould while still pliable, setting into their characteristic curved shape within seconds.

Tegole (roof tiles) are the characteristic thin biscuit of the Valle d'Aosta: extremely thin, crisp wafer-like biscuits made from ground hazelnuts, almonds, egg whites, and a small amount of flour, baked until just golden, then shaped immediately while hot over a rolling pin to create the curved 'roof tile' form. They are the confection that accompanies the after-dinner grappa or the Barolo Chinato in Aosta's cafés. Their extreme thinness and the combination of nut-flour means they are simultaneously light and intensely flavoured — the hazelnut oil released during baking gives them a rich aroma and a shattering crispness.