Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Local Specialities
The stretch of northern Italy marked by its glittering glacial lakes covers four distinct culin-
ary zones from the western Piedmontese shores of Lake Maggiore and the upper Alpine
reaches of Lombardy and the Valtellina valley to the soupy rice paddies of the Po valley
and the spice-laden flavours of the Veneto, bounding Lake Garda's eastern shore.
Milan
Milan is Italy's wealthiest city and its cuisine is similarly golden-hued.
Cotoletta
, sliced
buttery veal, mellow yellow risotto and Yuletide
panettone
are cases in point. Since the
Renaissance, the Milanese have been great meat eaters - pork, veal, beef, offal and game
are all popular, as are hefty casseroles and
minestre
(soups) bulked up with rice or pasta.
Surrounded by freshwater rivers and home to the largest wholesale fish market in Europe,
fish is another staple of the diet.
»
Coffee & cake
Meet at Milan's historic
pasticerrie
(
Click here
) for a brioche (sweet bread) or slice of strudel.
»
Aperitivo
Milanese often forgo dinner and feast for free on copious buffets fashioned by trendy
aperitivo
bars from
7pm onwards (
Click here
).
»
Risotto alla Milanese
Milan's signature dish is a risotto simmered in marrow stock, wine, butter and saffron. Peck
Italian Bar (
Click here
) is the place to try it.
»
Panettone
The eggy, brioche-like Yuletide bread is now a national Easter and Christmas tradition. Biffi Pasticceria
(
Click here
) and Gattullo (
Click here
) are proud keepers of heritage recipes.
»
Cotoletta alla Milanese
Inch-thick cutlets from the loin of a milk-fed calf dipped in breadcrumbs and fried. Try the
real deal at Trattoria del Nuovo Macello (
Click here
)
.
Brescia Province
The cuisine of Brescia and Bergamo is Alpine-Venetian, combining strong flavours in
simple dishes. In Bergamo, polenta is served 'wet' with almost everything, including
sweets. Alpine herds provide an ample supply of meat for braised stews (
brasato
), oven
baking (
al forno
) and spit roasts, while their milk is transformed for famous Lombard
cheeses such as Grana Padano, Bagoss and Rosa Camuna.
»
Bergamo
Famous for
schisöl
(polenta cooked with cheese and mushrooms) and the
polenta e osei
(sweet polenta cake),
garnished with chocolate birds (
osei
).
