Friuli-Venezia Giulia cuisine

Friuli's table sits where Italy meets the Alps and the Slav and Austro-Hungarian worlds: Montasio cheese and San Daniele ham, polenta and brovada, plum gnocchi and the spiral gubana. It is Italy's great white-wine region - Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana - with dark Refosco and the sweet Picolit and Ramandolo for its pastries.

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Antipasto

FricoCrisp fried Montasio cheese

Montasio cheese fried - alone into a lacy crisp, or with potato and onion into a soft golden cake - the mountain dish of Carnia.

Montasio cheesepotatoonion

Wines to drink with it

Friulano Friulano's almond note and freshness cut the rich fried cheese.
Collio Goriziano o Collio DOC A structured Collio white balances the fatty, salty frico.

Prosciutto di San DanieleSan Daniele dry-cured ham

Sweet, slow-cured ham from the hill town of San Daniele, its microclimate shaping a delicate, faintly sweet flavour; sliced thin.

dry-cured ham

Wines to drink with it

Friulano The regional white par excellence - its saline freshness lifts the sweet ham.
Friuli Colli Orientali DOC A Colli Orientali white from near San Daniele is the home match.

Primo

CjarsonsCarnia sweet-savoury filled pasta

Carnia's half-moon pasta with a shifting sweet-savoury filling - herbs, dried fruit, spices, sometimes chocolate - dressed in smoked ricotta and browned butter.

pastaherbs and dried fruitsmoked ricotta

Wines to drink with it

Ribolla Gialla Ribolla's citrus and acidity handle the sweet-savoury, spiced filling.
Ramandolo DOCG The sweet Verduzzo of Ramandolo echoes the dish's raisiny, spiced side.

JotaBean, sauerkraut and potato soup

A thick Trieste soup of borlotti beans, sauerkraut (or fermented turnip), potato and pork, an Austro-Slav legacy of the Carso.

borlotti beanssauerkrautpotatopork

Wines to drink with it

Carso o Carso - Kras DOC A Carso red is the local partner to this Trieste hinterland soup.
Terrano Terrano's high acidity and iron edge suit the sour kraut and pork.

Gnocchi di SusinePlum-stuffed potato gnocchi

Potato gnocchi wrapped around a whole plum, boiled and rolled in cinnamon sugar and browned breadcrumbs - a sweet Trieste primo of Habsburg descent.

potato gnocchiplumscinnamonbreadcrumbs

Wines to drink with it

Verduzzo Friulano A sweet Verduzzo matches the plum and cinnamon without clashing.
Ramandolo DOCG Ramandolo's honeyed Verduzzo is a natural partner for the sweet gnocchi.

Secondo

Brovada e MusetMarc-fermented turnips with cotechino

Turnips fermented in grape marc, grated and stewed, served with 'muset' (a cotechino-style pork sausage) - the winter dish of the Friulian plain.

marc-fermented turnipscotechino sausage

Wines to drink with it

Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso Refosco's dark fruit and firm acidity cut the fatty sausage and sour turnip.
Friuli Grave DOC A Grave Refosco or Merlot is the everyday plains-country match.

Boreto a la GraisanaGrado-style fish stew

A stark white fish stew from the lagoon island of Grado - fish cooked in oil, vinegar and lots of pepper, no tomato - served over white polenta.

white fishvinegarpepperpolenta

Wines to drink with it

Friulano Friulano's body and freshness match the peppery, vinegary fish.
Friuli Isonzo o Isonzo del Friuli DOC An Isonzo white from the nearby plain suits the lagoon stew.

Dolce

GubanaSpiral nut-and-raisin sweet bread

A coiled sweet dough of the Natisone valleys filled with walnuts, raisins, pine nuts and grappa, baked into a snail-shell spiral.

sweet doughwalnutsraisinsgrappa

Wines to drink with it

Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit DOCG The rare, honeyed Picolit is the prestige match for Friuli's festive cake.
Ramandolo DOCG Ramandolo's sweet Verduzzo suits the nutty, raisiny spiral.