Taroz with Valtellina Casera DOP-Cheese

Many typical dishes that hail from the Valtellina Valley — situated in northern Italy among the Alps — feature vegetables grown in the lush area. Taroz, pronounced tarozch, is one such dish. While not as well-known as the Valtellina’s prized pizzoccheri, a buckwheat flour noodle for which the region is famous, this antipasto dish highlights everything wonderful about the area, from the potatoes grown in the mountain village of Sacco to the locally-produced traditional cheese.

The dish is basically a form of mashed potato served with cured meats. Here we’ve used the addition of pancetta (or bacon if you can’t find it), but many traditional recipes are naturally vegetarian. Because there are so few ingredients, it’s imperative that they be of the highest quality, in particular the potatoes and the cheese, which should be a Casera DOP.

This is hearty mountain fare but with rich flavor profiles. You can make it during our wonderful Cooking in the Valtellina Valley culinary vacation, and pair it with excellent Lombardy wines.