Alpine food, by definition, tends to be a simple, hearty affair, the culinary equivalent of drawing close to an open hearth. In the kitchens of the Italian Dolomites, however, where one chef’s knodeln-bread dumplings-are another’s canederli, things have become rather more complicated, if deliciously so.
A heady mix of the Italian, German and native Ladin traditions, Italy’s northernmost province, just over the Brenner Pass from Austria, has developed a cuisine as unique-and tricultural-as its heritage.
The Alto Adige, as Italians call the area, covers nearly 3,000 square miles stretching from the Alpine peaks and fertile valleys of the north to the olives and vineyards at its southern borders. The top apple-producing region in Italy, the province also is known for its fine wines-particularly terlaner, merlot and Santa Maddalena among the reds and reisling Renano, gewurtztraminer and sylvaner among the whites-most of which are exported to Germany and Austria.
The region’s proximity to Austria is more than geographical. As its gingerbread-trimmed chalets and onion-domed churches attest, it formed part of the Austrian Tyrol from the 14th Century until 1918, when it was ceded to Italy. This shift in citizenship came hard and still rankles some in the predominantly German-speaking population. Indeed, the German-speakers, who make up about 69 percent of the province’s 440,000 citizens, persist in calling their home the South Tyrol.
Native Ladins, who speak the region’s third official language, comprise about 4 percent of the province. Often farmers, ski instructors, innkeepers, cattle breeders, wood carvers and mountain guides, they are the descendants of the Rhaetian people who inhabited these Alpine valleys at least since Roman times.
While the blending of these ethnic groups in the Alto Adige hasn’t always been smooth politically, gastronomically it has produced a cuisine that deftly whisks together the disparate German and Italian ingredients, while still keeping the traditional elements of the Alpine table intact.
“We have an Alpine cuisine, a very simple cuisine with strong tastes, relatively few vegetables and obviously most often using pork, the cheapest meat,” says Louis Agostini, a chef for 40 years and owner of the Zur Kaiserkron restaurant in Bolzano, the province’s predominantly Italian-speaking capital.
Many of the “strong tastes” come from the frequent use of anise, clove, poppy, caraway, ginger, nutmeg and other herbs and spices. At first glance, it seems a rather exotic practice given the location, but it is precisely because of location that the inhabitants of the Alto Adige became exposed to spices and incorporated them into their cooking.
“We have a lot of spices because the caravans passed here on the trade routes,” says Agostini, referring to Bolzano’s long history as a commercial center and transit point through the Alps.
Its markets brim with a selection of vegetables these days, but the region itself still produces very few varieties. In fact, when the German-speakers first encountered the Ladins, they dubbed them krautwalsche or cabbage-eaters-a disparaging term, but one that still accurately reflects the popularity of that cruciferous vegetable-usually used as sauerkraut-and potatoes in a cuisine that long had few other options.
Pork, which continues to be a dietary mainstay, appears in a variety of sausages, as well as in traditional roasts, where it often is accompanied by horseradish. It finds its most famous local expression, however, in speck. A spiced hybrid of bacon and ham, speck is the product of a cold climate, a high altitude and a slow smoking for three months over a juniper wood fire. Sliced thin, it is often served with buttered bread and pickles as an appetizer.
Agostini, like many chefs in the region’s more urban or resort-oriented areas, serves a mixture of traditional and modern dishes in his restaurant. Passionate about preserving the province’s distinct cuisine, or cucina Altoatesina, he and his son Luis, also a chef, have collected some 800 old and new regional recipes, a selection of which they published here in 1990.
One of the foundations of South Tyrolean cuisine-old or new-remains the variety of bread dumplings, which German-speakers call knodeln, Italians call canederli and both prefer to pasta.
Plump, steaming and fortifying, dumplings would seem warming and filling fare in a frosty mountain climate. But Louis Agostini believes their popularity here has its roots less in aesthetics than economics.
“Certainly today we have much pork, beef and very good veal,” he says. “But, you know, years ago, the people had meat once a week-the wealthy families, that is. For the rest, it was once a year. Otherwise, it was all knodeln.”
Moreover, he points out: “You can make them with the leftovers of bread. In fact, you can use everything.”
Like the robust, long-lasting breads of the Alto Adige, the dumplings often are made with the barley and rye that flourishes here. Potato flour sometimes is used, as is buckwheat, which gives the dumplings a darker color. Traditional stuffings include spinach and ground beef, pork, lamb, fish, spinach and organ meats.
Although working with what typically is a heavy, doughy cuisine, some chefs, such as Hans Baumgartner at the Pichler restaurant in Rio di Pusteria-Muhlbach, a village near Brunico, are trying to lighten things up. Using orthodox ingredients in a decidedly unorthodox way, Pichler has earned a Michelin star.
At Pichler, which seats only 40 in the wood-paneled dining room of an 18th Century house, even the knodeln get a nouvelle twist, appearing as fluffy mounds of marinated and steamed pike mixed with radicchio and fennel. Game, another Tyrolean tradition, is translated into an elegant rabbit and duck pate in aspic.
Spinach gnocchi is served with formaggio grigio, gray cheese, a local specialty. Composed of ricotta cheese, aged to the brink of decomposition, this dish first assaults the nose with a spectacularly strong aroma reminiscent of old gym socks and follows up on the tongue with a texture akin to damp rags.
As an entree, tiny grilled lamb chops arrive accompanied by a bright mixture of mushrooms, chopped tomatoes and broccoli florets. For dessert, nougat ice cream napped with kiwi sauce and served with delicate pastry cornucopia.
For those in search of traditionally prepared South Tyrolean cuisine, there is nowhere better to experience it than in one of the tiny, rustic and often remote farmhouse restaurants that dot the region. In their kitchens, the old ways still are the only ways. Often operated by farmers as income-producing ventures during the winter, these restaurants are friendly, leisurely, no-frills affairs.
Like the Stoa de Villa Speckstube, perched on a ledge amid Alpine pastures high above the village of San Vigilio di Marebbe, these small establishments usually play host to no more than a couple dozen guests at one seating a night. Meals, which often must be ordered in advance, typically are prepared by the farmer’s wife and served by her and other family members.
At the Speckstube, the dining-room reflects the cozy, elegantly simple Alpine design of low, beamed ceilings and pine-paneled walls. Guests are served, family style at long, wooden tables, flanked by benches.
On a recent visit, for example, the first course was turteln, ravioli-like discs of rye flour pastry, stuffed with spinach and ricotta and then deep-fried. After this came a hearty barley soup flavored with beans and bits of thick bacon.
The main course featured two signature Tyrolean dishes: stinco, a roast shank of pork, and a roast of roebuck, served with myrtleberry preserves.
Whether modern or traditional, the cuisine of the Alto Adige dotes on pastries and desserts, which tend to have an Austrian accent. Krapfen, airy cream puffs, are favorites, as are the flaky strudel and tarts, which make sweet use of the region’s nuts, apples, pears, cherries and raspberries.
The Austrian and Italian palates, however, join in the local specialty dessert called the Moor’s head. Mohrenkoepfe in German and testa di moro in Italian, this consists of boiled chestnuts formed into balls, wrapped in chocolate, soaked in a liqueur, topped with a dollop of cream and crowned with an Italian flourish of maraschino cherries.
As culinary marriages between cultures go, this one was made in heaven.
Following are some recipes worth trying.
SPINACH-STUFFED POTATO PASTA (OFELLE ALLA TRIESTINA)
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 to 8 servings
The potatoes used in this recipe, adapted from “Bugialli on Pasta” by Giuliano Bugialli, clearly show German influences. A cross between dumplings and ravioli, the pasta can be served as a first or main course. Unlike most pasta doughs, this one cannot be made in advance. The potatoes will cause the dough to darken if it is held too long before rolling and cooking.
Pasta:
2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled, cut in 2-inch chunks
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 extra large egg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Filling:
1 pound fresh spinach, stems removed
Salt
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 ounces Italian sausage or pork sausage
2 ounces ground beef
Salt, pepper
For serving:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, kept warm
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground pepper
1. Steam the potatoes in a large steamer, making sure the water does not touch them, until they are very tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Put through a potato ricer into a bowl and let stand until cool.
2. When the potatoes are cool, put them in a mound on a large board; make a well in the center of the potatoes. Spoon 2 cups flour around the mound of potatoes. Put the egg, salt and baking soda into the well. With a fork, mix the ingredients in the well. Gradually incorporate the potatoes, then the flour. Use your hands to finish making the dough; knead 2 to 3 minutes. Cover with a towel and let rest 10 minutes.
3. For the filling, cook the spinach in boiling salted water 5 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water; squeeze well to remove water.
4. Melt the butter with the oil in a small saucepan. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5 minutes. Add the sausage (removed from casing) and beef. Cook until no longer pink. Add the spinach and cook until mixture is almost dry, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool before filling pasta.
5. To roll the pasta, spread the remaining flour on a board. Divide dough into quarters and roll one piece at a time to a thickness of 1/16-inch. With a 3 1/2-inch fluted round cutter, cut circles from the dough. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center and fold over to make half-moons. Pinch the edges to seal tightly. Roll and fill remaining dough. Keep covered up to 30 minutes until cooking.
6. Carefully transfer pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water; cook 8 to 10 minutes, in batches if necessary so the pan is not too crowded. Remove with a large slotted spoon and drain; put in a large bowl with the melted butter. Sprinkle cheese and pepper over.
VENISON CUTLETS WITH PORT WINE SAUCE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Marinating time: Overnight
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Overcooking will render the chops tasteless and dry. When properly cooked, they should be pink in the center.
4 venison chops, see note
1/3 cup each: raisins, pine nuts
2 cups port
1/2 cup beef stock or broth
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt, freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons each: olive oil, whipping cream, unsalted butter
1. Put chops in a shallow glass pan just large enough to hold them. Add raisins, pine nuts and port; cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Remove chops from marinade; reserve marinade. Pat the meat dry. Combine the flour and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the meat and cook over medium-high heat, turning once, until seared on the outside and pink in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a heated platter and keep warm while you finish the sauce.
4. Add the reserved marinade to the pan. Heat to a boil over high heat and cook until it is reduced by half. Add beef stock and cream and boil 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the heat to low. Cut the butter into two pieces and whisk in, one piece at a time. Add salt and pepper to taste and pour over the meat.
Note: Venison chops are available from Wild Game, Inc., 2315 W. Huron St., 312-278-1661 for about $11.60 per pound.
PEASANT APPLE BREAD PUDDING (CROSTATA DEL CONTADINO)
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 servings
6 ounces day-old French or Italian bread, about six 3/4-inch slices
2 MacIntosh apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
5 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 carton (8 ounces) plain yogurt
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 6-cup gratin or shallow baking dish.
2. Gently stir together cheese and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a mixing bowl. Add egg yolks and mix lightly. Whisk in milk, yogurt, lemon rind and vanilla.
3. Layer bread and apple in baking pan. Pour cheese mixture over. Cut butter into small bits and scatter over top. Sprinkle remaining sugar over.
4. Bake just until set, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
