In Valtellina area, one of the most loved region by gourmets, there are 4 restaurants that boats a Michelin Star. Plunged in landscapes straight out of a postcard, they are also extremely romantic and represent the ideal location for a dinner by candlelight in Valentine’s Day. From Madesimo to Bormio, here there are four address to try the Valtellina’s great classics revisited with creativity and passion by 4 great chefs.
At Il Cantinone (Madesimo), welcomes dishes made by chef Stefano Masanti seem painting with bright colors and slow-food premises, based on local products and recipes, which widens their horizons to wider culinary worlds. Among the signature dishes of Masanti there are some typical Valtellina icons made in a modern way: the sciatt, the traditional pancakes with an heart of melted cheese, are served with “Salmerino di torrente” (a creek fish); polenta is turned into a cannoli stuffed with goat cheese and juniper, while one of the emblems of the region, the Bitto cheese, becomes a soft mousse served with chestnuts and caramel vinegar Sforzato. The dining room is in the ancient big cellar – after which the restaurant is named – cladded by fir boiserie that, enlightened by the candles light, creating an intimate and romantic ambiance.
In Chiavenna, authenticity, taste and respect for tradition are the favorite ingredients of Andrea Tonola, chef of Lanterna Verde restaurant. So impressively Tonola ranges from signature dishes such as Valtellina’s pizzoccheri to smashing recipes and offers successful flavor combinations of opposite tastes, such as scallops with pumpkin and ginger or beet gnocchi with cream of goat cheese, sesame and caviar trout or even the wild partridge served with by roasted thistles and turnips. The setting is the typical mountain building with exposed beams, frescoes on the walls and large fireplaces that exude warmth. For a romantic toast you can choose among more than 7000 bottles stored in the large cellar of the basement where the best choice is Sforzato of Valtellina.
Not far from Morbegno, in Mantello, there is La Presef, the restaurant of La Fiorida farm. Here the leader is chef Gianni Tarabini: following the philosophy of the ‘kilometer zero’, he creates his recipes using almost exclusively what is produced on the farm, from the slaughterhouse to the dairy. In this way, some of his most famous dishes are: Fiorida pig with savoy cabbage
cream and crispy polenta, or potato gnocchi with Bitto, whipped butter, “Misultin del Lario” (a lake fish) and lemon zest, all enclosed in the ‘Menu of Emotions’, the menu he created to tell, through every dish, a story, a flavor or aroma associated with the history of each of them. Guests are welcomed in a warm location, with mostly wood, pastel shades and a large “Valtellina stüa” (a typical heater).
Finally here we are in Bormio, in the restaurant Umami (it means tasty in Japanese) where the young chef Antonio Borruso cooks with incredible mix of flavors, colors and intense scents travels. Borruso proposes dishes that represent the fusion between two different culinary traditions, the Neapolitan and the Valtellina, managing to blend them into a varied menu and able to satisfy the most discerning palates. From traditional recipes such as pizzoccheri, made in a curious spherical shape, the menu switches in an explosion of Neapolitan ragu; sciatt are instead stuffed with cod and peppers and mountain lard accompanies cod au gratin. The interior of the restaurant is modern, with large windows that let in daylight, and a rich collection of valuable bottles, displayed on the walls as true artwork.
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