There was a time when shepherds and peasants did not have the luxury of going home and having a leisurely lunch sitting at the table. They ate in the fields serving themselves all together from the same pot where they had cooked their meal. This is how fondue bourguignonne was born, an ancient specialty of mountain cuisine that combines the pleasure of freshly cooked meat with the pleasure of being together.
The best choice of meat for this recipe is beef sirloin, which should be boned and cut into cubes no larger than two centimeters on each side.
It is then up to each diner to skewer it with a metal skewer and dip it in the boiling oil of the caquelon, the classic pot placed on a stove in the center of the table. It only takes a few moments to have a well-cooked and flavorful bite.
The flavor of the meat is then enhanced by dipping it in one of several small bowls of sauces with which we accompany it.
Fondue alla valdostana is the famous melted cheese specialty that has its origins in the practical needs and bonds of solidarity that united mountain people. It was a simple dish to prepare even for those who, like farmers and shepherds, found themselves in the middle of the woods or on the meadows: all that was needed to cook it was a fire, a pot, milk, fontina cheese and some hard bread. It mattered little if plates and cutlery were missing.
All that was needed was the tip of a small knife to pierce and dip the bread into the cream. And if a passing traveler asked to join the meal, it was always welcome.
To accompany this hearty dish we suggest a Valdostan Chardonnay or a Chambave Moscato doc.
Once upon a time, bagna caoda was a poor man's dish, a sauce created to season those vegetables that the gardens and seasons were able to offer the mountain people.
The wealthy classes despised it because of the simplicity of the ingredients and the presence of garlic, a condiment, on the other hand, much loved by the people not only for the flavor that enriched the dishes but also for its medicinal virtues so much so that the saying was born that L'aja l'è le spesiari di paisan (Garlic is the farmer's pharmacist).
Today, bagna caoda is a gastronomic delicacy as well as one of the classic recipes of convivial cuisine.
We bring the dian to the table, where it will rest on a small stove that will keep the dish hot, along with an assortment of raw vegetables to dip in the sauce: cardoons, peppers, savoy cabbage, cauliflower, onions, carrots, and leeks.
We wanted the best testimonial who could describe the goodness of raclette, and our choice could only be Heidi, the most famous child in children's literature.
We remember the passage in which the protagonist of Johanna Spyri's book gets acquainted with her gruff but generous grandfather. He sees that she is hungry, and to refresh her he exposes a large piece of cheese skewered on a long iron fork to the heat of the hearth. When it is well toasted he spreads a slice of it soft as butter on a piece of bread which he offers to the little girl. She finds it simply delicious.
Once upon a time this humble dish constituted along with a cup of milk the only meal of many shepherd families. With the arrival in the mountains of tourism and wellness, it has become a favorite dish at Alpine après-skis. Of course, today it comes with more ingredients.
In fact, after melting the cheese slices in a tray and scraping them (racler in French, hence the name of the recipe) we offer them hot along with a mixture of boiled potatoes, spring onions and pickled gherkins.