Autumnal colours and flavours in Trentino
Seasonal recipes to delight your eyes and palate
Yellow, orange, red and brown: these are the colours of the woods and mountain slopes, where larches and chestnut trees take on dazzling arrays of shades in autumn. They are the colour rendering of nature’s first sleepy yawn, while it stretches out before its long winter rest.
However, they are also the nuances of many dishes that are cooked with seasonal ingredients. These warm colours, besides signalling the presence vitamins and proto-vitamins, such as beta Carotenes, for example, seem to have trapped the sun of the summer that has just ended and, together with it, the fragrances of the land which has been invigorated and quenched by thunderstorms, as well as of aromatic herbs, moss and the forests.
We have selected for you some dishes that you can prepare, without great difficulty, in your own kitchen, delighting the eyes and palate of your guests and thinking about the mountains in Trentino, before returning there physically or planning your next holiday, maybe already in autumn!
Creamy risotto with local cheese and Golden apples
Along the Trentino Apple and Flavors Route, apples are combined with almost everything in the kitchen, replacing other ingredients, because, always depending on the variety, it is very versatile. With their sweetness and crunchiness, Golden apples, in particular, and especially when freshly picked, are an excellent ally in cheese-based first courses. It is a delicious risotto that will conquer even children!
Pumpkin spätzle
You don’t need to wait for Halloween to have fun with pumpkin in the kitchen! If you don’t have the special tool to prepare spätzle, namely, the Spätzlehobel, don’t worry! All you need to do is use any skimmer with slightly large holes, or a large-hole sieve base of a vegetable mill, on which you will slide dough with your hands. Once dropped into the boiling water, your dumplings will be cooked in 2-3 minutes.
Pumpkin and ricotta gnocchi
If, on the other hand, you like gnocchi to feel full in your mouth, this is a more classic version, but totally gluten-free because, instead of flour, you will use potato starch! If you can, choose a pumpkin with a very thin skin and a nice orange flesh, like the one from Trentino. Even the eye wants its part!
Potato polenta
This is a special and, of course, delicious polenta! A dish originating from Valle di Ledro that will not make you regret classic polenta and, indeed, will impress your guests. The result is a lighter, softer and very creamy polenta. If you really want to go overboard, you can add lucanica pasta or sausage.
Sliced duck glazed with orange on braised red cabbage with apples and chestnuts
In this dish, Trentino autumn is served! Duck is a meat much appreciated by Trentino chefs because its flavour, moderately wild, allows you to create combinations that can either enhance or soften its intensity. You’ll need time, more waiting than in the kitchen, but the result will be spectacular.
Castione chestnuts semifreddo
An easy recipe that comes directly from the Associazione Tutela Marroni di Castione, the association dedicated to the protection of Castione chestnuts. Castione chestnuts have a very sweet taste and a very fine grain. They are harvested on the Brentonico plateau from chestnut trees that are more than 200 years old.
Castagnaccio
Each region has its own recipe and each territory its particularity. This version includes walnuts and raisins, but, above all, plenty of Garda Trentino PDO extra virgin olive oil. How about trying it with all the original ingredients, maybe even with chestnuts or marroni from Trentino?
Festive biscuits with quince apples
The jam can be prepared at home with water, quinces, lemon and sugar, or purchased. You can easily replace quinces with any other variety of apple that you can soften with a little water in a pan, even without adding sugar. Then have fun shaping your cookies!
Apple pie
Never throw stale bread away! When you have leftovers, this is the real recipe for reuse! If you replace apples with cheese and speck, you can turn it into a savory version. The result is a delicious dessert, perfect for a snack or an evening snack.
