Valle d'Aosta
Sliced local soft cheese (in Aosta: Fromadzo or Reblochon-style alpine cheese) coated in egg and breadcrumbs and shallow-fried in butter until the coating is golden and the cheese inside is completely molten. Served over a thick round of grilled polenta or alongside grilled vegetables. A preparation found in the mountain huts (rifugi) where the simplicity of the cheese-in-butter-and-breadcrumbs technique was the foundation.
Crisp golden breadcrumbs giving way to molten, nutty alpine cheese; clarified butter gives richness; the cheese is milky and slightly sharp; polenta adds mild sweetness and contrast — mountain luxury from simple ingredients
{"Use a cheese with 40–50% fat content that melts smoothly — Fromadzo DOP or similar; low-fat cheese becomes rubbery when heated","Chill the cheese slices (1.5cm thick) in the freezer for 15 minutes before breading — cold cheese holds its shape during frying","Double-bread: egg, fine breadcrumbs, egg again, coarse breadcrumbs — the double coat prevents the cheese from leaking through","Fry in clarified butter at 160°C — whole butter burns before the cheese is fully melted inside","Serve within 2 minutes — the cheese sets as it cools and loses its molten quality rapidly"}
{"A tablespoon of chopped fresh sage mixed into the breadcrumbs gives a herbal note that pairs perfectly with the Alpine cheese","Serve on a base of lightly dressed wild rocket — the bitterness cuts through the richness of fried cheese","Fromadzo is milder; for a stronger, funkier result use a slightly older tome de Gressoney-style cheese"}
{"Room-temperature cheese — it's too soft to bread cleanly and leaks through the coating before the outside is golden","Single breading — one coat is insufficient to contain the melting cheese","Whole butter — it burns at the required temperature; clarified butter is essential"}
La Cucina Valdostana — Montagna e Tradizione