Minestrone Valdostano — Mountain Minestrone with Fontina Crust

Valle d'Aosta — the practice of finishing mountain soups with bread and melted local cheese is pan-Alpine and appears in Valdostano, Savoyard, and Swiss cookbooks from the 18th century. The specific Fontina d'Aosta finish makes the Valdostano version regionally specific.

Minestrone valdostano is the valley's version of the Italian vegetable soup — substantially different from Ligurian or Lombard versions in its use of root vegetables specific to the alpine climate (parsnip, turnip, celeriac, leek) alongside the standard soffritto base, and in its finishing: the serving bowls are filled, topped with a thick slice of stale Valdostano rye bread and a generous slice of Fontina d'Aosta, then passed under the grill (or held near the fire) until the Fontina melts and bubbles over the soup. The result is a soup eaten through a blanket of melted alpine cheese — each spoonful combining the mineral broth with the string of Fontina.

Minestrone valdostano arrives at the table with the Fontina still bubbling — strings of melted cheese pull as the spoon breaks through the bread. The soup beneath is mineral and sweet from the alpine roots; the rye bread has softened slightly; the Fontina provides the rich, mountain-herb note that ties everything together. In the Aosta valley in January, it is the most satisfying preparation imaginable.