Traditional Recipes

Traditional Recipes that Tell the Story of the Territory: From Lake to Land to Mountains

In the Lake Como area, food lovers will find at least three local cuisines: from the lake, from the valleys, and typical Brianza cuisine.

The flavors of the lake feature fish as the main ingredient. Risotto with perch fillets is the local specialty, with different recipes and versions for each locality. Alongside this refined dish are simpler, more traditional recipes, such as missoltini, shad that is dried and salted with an intense flavor. There is also fish in carpione, fried and marinated in water and vinegar, fried bleak, smoked trout in oil, whitefish in white wine, and Tremezzina fish soup with pike, small trout, chub, burbot, and perch. Among the desserts, we recommend the Resta di Como with dried and candied fruit and a small olive branch in the dough, as a wish for peace and good fortune.

The valley cuisine, ancient and traditional, revolves around polenta, dairy products, and recipes full of flavor and calories. Among these dishes, one stands out: "tocc," polenta made from different flours with butter and cheese, slowly cooked in large copper pots over the fire; Tocc is eaten directly from the pot—it is a ritual of gathering and brotherhood.

Brianza cuisine features simpler dishes made with barley, wheat, and less prized cuts of pork. This reflects the times when the area was poor, with a farming tradition in which every resource was precious. The same roots apply to Brianza cuisine, characterized by hearty meat-based dishes. Typical of this area are "cazzoeula," busecca (pork tripe cooked in broth), combinations of polenta with game or braised less prized cuts of pork. The tradition always reflects the territory's past.

Finally, there is no particular tradition when it comes to desserts. Excellent to enjoy with a good glass of wine are a sort of homemade flatbread made with flour, milk, sugar, and lemon zest, with some variations that include egg, Pan Meino, a biscuit made with corn flour, the "masigott" from Erba, and the "nocciolini" from Canzo, perfect to nibble with coffee.