Polenta con Funghi Porcini e Lardo Aostano
Valle d'Aosta — autumn season, porcini harvest in the alpine forests above Arnad
A warming autumn preparation from the Valle d'Aosta: creamy polenta topped with a sauté of fresh or dried porcini mushrooms and shaved Lardo di Arnad DOP. The mushrooms are cooked in butter with garlic and sage; the lardo is placed cold over the hot polenta immediately before service and melts on contact. The combination of earthy porcini, creamy polenta, and the cold lard's slow melt creates a dish that is quintessentially Alpine in its fat-and-fungus richness. In autumn, when porcini are fresh from the forests above Arnad, this is the definitive Valle d'Aosta meal.