It is a well-known fact that Italians are very serious about their food. Every region and many cities and towns have their own unique cuisines, and the best way to truly experience the soul of whatever part of Italy you are visiting is to search out its local signature dishes.
In Bergamo we start with casoncelli alla bergamasca. A dish of humble beginnings, but these delightful pasta dumplings filled with sausage and beef are elevated, with the addition of amaretti breadcrumbs, raisins, parmesan cheese and a delicate butter sage sauce, into a dish fit for a king.
Risotto alla bergamasca is the traditional risotto recipe of the city. It is cooked with fresh pork sausage and taleggio cheese, which is a cheese from Lombardy with its own DOP status (meaning it is produced, processed and packaged within a specific geographic region using traditional methods and ingredients).
For desert be sure to try some polenta e osei, a delicious cake made with corn flour, filled with cocoa and rum cream. This dessert is unusual in that it has the same name of what was originally a savory dish consisting of polenta topped with small roasted birds. When the hunting of these birds was banned, this sweet tradition started with this cake, which is decorated with small chocolate birds as a homage to its origins.
Or if you prefer gelato, be sure to get a scoop (or two) of straciatella. The Bergamo specialty, first created in the Bergamo gelateria “La Marinara” by drizzling melted chocolate on vanilla gelato, it is the perfect accompaniment to any visit to Bergamo!
