Food and cheese for hungry Pilgrims on the Via Fancigena in Val d'Aosta

By the time we finished our tour of the prison cells of Forte di Bard, Estela and I were famished, so we tried the "Polveriera" (translatable as the Gunpowder Room of this old fort) Restaurant.

 

An antipasto we had at the

Museum restaurant at Forte

di Bard, featuring "tagliere

di Salumi e Formaggi

Valdostani" (Valdostano is

the adjective for

Val D'Aosta, and this was

a board with cold cuts of

lunchmeats and cheeses).

Price 12 Euro, delicious

and worthwhile.

Pollo speziato accompagnato

da Riso Basmati con verdure

 

The most important meal of the day for these mountain people,the Valdostani, is their "la colazione" or breakfast. First of all a good espresso or cappuccino, with a brioche or some pastry.

 

We were treated every morning at our

chalet-styled boutique hotel in downtown Aosta

with a variety of  home-made pastries.

 Strudel pastry with blueberries.

Lemon cake.

 

From left to right, "Jambon de Bosses",

"Cotto alla Brace di Saint Oyen" and

"Coppa Aromatizzato di Ginepro"

 

 In the above picture, the typical lunchmeats of the Val d'Aosta are very aromatic and hearty. The Coppa aromatized by juniper wood was a delicacy.

This cheeseboard features

at the top

"Toma di Gressoney".

 

At this point you might have noticed that many names used in Val d'Aosta are not Italian, but French. The entire Val d'Aosta, as well as most of the Piedmont, was part of the Kingdom of Savoy, which also included a part of southeast France, east of the Rhone. Young people in Val d'Aosta are all Franch-Italian bilinguals.

To the right of the "Toma"

is the "Fontina Valdostana"

On the bottom left is the

"Caciotta Fresca"

On the right is the aromatic and seasoned

"Toma alle Erbe di Montagna Val d'Ayas"

A mid-morning Espresso at the Piazza Chanoux

Reading and resting at Piazza Chanous, Aosta.

 

This display window of a store in downtown

Aosta specializes in sweets and chocolates,

and on the trays on the top, the emblematic

"Bugie" cookies.

As Estela shows us, the

"Bugie" is a delicious light

cookie for a mid-morning

bite.

Many stores in Aosta offer freshly baked bread of

all types and sizes

 

 

For an appetizer at dinner, I had a "Pizza alla

Valdostana", with Fetti di Lardo

 

Estela ordered a Pizza typical of

another part of Northern Italy,

namely from Cortina d'Ampezzo

"Pizza con Patate".

 

A simple plate of Risotto with red wine is always

 a heartwarming dish for dinner in Aosta.

  

Vitello con Polenta.

 

 

 

gry