Val d'Aosta is Italy's smallest region and produces few wines. Although many of these wines are outstanding, few ever find their way out of Val d'Aosta. So this month we feature wines from two neighboring regions, Piemonte and Liguria. Cinqueterre

Menu (Dinner, November 2 - 15, 1998)

pane

PANE DI BIADA Traditional Val d'Aostana bread with wheat bran and honey, compliments of the Bakers of Il Fornaio. Available for sale at the Bakery counter.

antipasti e zuppa

GRIGLIATA DI VEGETALI Grilled beets, bell peppers, mushrooms, acorn squash and zucchini, drizzled with truffle oil $6.95
Cinqueterre

GELOSIA ALLA VALDOSTANA Puff pastry filled with prosciutto, fontina and shiitake mushroom, served with fonduta in a puff pastry basket $7.25
Dolcetto

ZUPPA DI PATATE E PORRI Potato and leek soup $5.50
Cinqueterre

primii

TAGLIOLINI CON CHIODINI Homemade egg pasta with chiodini, shiitake and button mushrooms, roma tomatoes, garlic and rosemary $11.95
Dolcetto

GNOCCHI D' AOSTA Potato dumplings, ham, fontina, cream and sage baked in the wood-burning oven $11.95
Dolcetto

CANNELLONI ALLA MONTANARA Homemade cannelloni filled with mortadella, veal and spinach; porcini-bechamel sauce $12.95
Barolo

RISOTTO AI PORCINI Arborio rice, porcini mushrooms, fontina and parmesan cheese, served in a pastry basket $13.95
Dolcetto

secondi

MAIALE AL PEPE ROSA Grilled pork loin with thyme and pink peppercorn sauce; served with sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes $16.95
Barolo

PETTO DI POLLO Chicken breast stuffed with ham and fontina cheese; served with sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes $16.95
Dolcetto

TROTA VAL D'AOSTA Whole trout filled with fresh spinach and drizzled with truffle oil; served with mashed potatoes $15.95
Cinqueterre

dolci

TARTUFO CON MILLE FOGLIE Puff pastry layered with whipped cream and Grand Marnier pastry cream, served with a bittersweet chocolate truffle $5.95

Val d'Aosta is a politically autonomous region from Piemonte, but the food, however, is nearly inseparable. The mountainous terrain dominates the area and greatly influences the cuisine.

Mountain cooking - solid food designed to help combat the cold - features a lot of roasted meats, polenta and mushrooms. Cooking is not very fancy, and although it is heavy, the people are not heavy eaters (it is said that northern Italians are relatively reserved and not given to excess).

The best known specialty of the region is fonduta (fontina cheese melted with milk, eggs and flour, served with sfilatino garlic toasts). Fontina cheese (named from Mount Fontin, at Quart) is made in Val d'Aosta and it is famous throughout the world. The finishing touch to this rich cheese is its aging in well-aired stone buildings nearly 10,000 feet up.

Fontina cheese appears in many dishes of the region. Gelosia alla Valdostana features fontina cheese as well as fonduta, (Northern Italian cheese fondue). Gnocchi d'Aosta (potato dumplings, ham, fontina, cream and sage baked in the wood-burning oven) is a very traditional preparation of these well-known dumplings. Petti di Pollo (chicken breast stuffed with fontina and ham) is also typical - and is a hearty dish for the cold weather.

The capital, Aosta, was an important city in Roman times and Roman walls still surround the city. The region also includes Europe's highest mountains: Mont Blanc, Cervino (the Matterhorn) and Mount Rosa, and is a haven for skiing enthusiasts during the winter.

Enrico Ambrosetti grew up in Verbania, Piemonte, the neighboring region to Val d'Aosta. After finishing culinary school at age sixteen, he left Italy to work for a cruise line, making pastries. When he returned to Italy one year later, it was to the northern region of Trentino-Alto Adige to learn about the German influence in Italian pastry. He then moved to Florida where he met a young chef named Maurizio Mazzon. Mazzon, who would later become vice president and executive chef at Il Fornaio, convinced his friend to follow him when he first came to Il Fornaio.

Buon Appetito!