The food in Lombardy.
Because a lot of Lombardy is well irrigated flatland, this region has a highly productive agricultural industry producing crops such as rice, maize, wheat, sugar beet and animal fodder. There are also lots of cattle and dairy farms.
Like the rest of Italy, the most common crops and livestock dictate the region’s cuisine and in fact, the Lombardy kitchen is very different to that of the southern Italian regions. Rice and polenta are staples here, as are beef and veal.
Lombardy is also home to many famous Italian cheeses such as gorgonzola, robiola, Grana Padano, mascarpone and taleggio. There are also many less well-known mountain cheeses produced in the Alpine pastures and valleys in the north of the region.
These 12 pasta recipes from Lombardy.
The pasta and gnocchi recipes below are just a taste of the delicious fare to be found in Lombardy. Most of them make use of typical local ingredients and many are recipes that date back to former times when the rural population created dishes from ingredients, they either farmed themselves, foraged or hunted.
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Homemade pasta recipes from Lombardy.
1) Chestnut flour maltagliati with mushrooms.
Known locally as ‘foiade’, this homemade chestnut flour pasta is a type of maltagliati pasta from the valleys of Bergamo province. Traditionally, foiade contain more than one type of flour. I used a mix of chestnut flour and semolina flour. I dressed the ready pasta with a sauce of dried porcini, fresh cremini mushrooms and cream. The result? A fabulous chestnut maltagliati recipe that’s easy to make, yet special enough for holiday menus.
2) Robiola filled ravioli.
If you are a homemade ravioli fan, you’ll love this robiola filled ravioli made with one of the region’s signature cheeses. The ravioli filling is easy to make and really tasty with no cooking needed! The pasta dough has soft and hard wheat flour and eggs. Serve this ravioli with melted butter, grated cheese and chopped chives.
3) Homemade Casoncelli.
Casoncelli pasta, also called casonsei, is a classic filled pasta from Eastern Lombardy. There are a number of versions of this delicious traditional dish. This particular recipe is for casoncelli della Valcamonica, a valley in the Italian Alps.
In this recipe, the pasta filling contains boiled greens, mortadella, sausage, grated Parmigiano, potatoes, breadcrumbs, parsley, leek, salt and pepper. The dough is a mix of soft and hard wheat flour and eggs. The ready casoncelli are served with melted butter, sage leaves and crispy pancetta!
This fabulous stuffed pasta is definitely a labour of love. It’s not a quick weeknight meal. However, if you try it, you will understand why it’s such an iconic dish.
4) Scarpinocc di Parre.
Known in Lombardy as scarpinocc di Parre this meatless filled pasta is a unique traditional dish from an ancient mountain village called Parre. Scarpinocc is a very rustic pasta created with mostly simple ingredients that were available to the farming families of the past. Rich in milk, butter, cheese and eggs this is a homemade pasta you will want to try!
The filling for scarpinocc isn’t cooked. It has breadcrumbs, grated Grana or Parmigiano, butter, eggs, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and milk. The pasta dough contains soft and hard wheat flour, melted butter, milk and eggs. Scarpinocc is usually served with a simple browned butter and sage condiment.
5) Maltagliati with Mascarpone.
This fabulous creamy mascarpone pasta recipe comes from the city of Lodi in the heart of the Po Valley. Traditionally made with maltagliati pasta, this is one of the easiest pasta recipes to make. You can use homemade or ready-made lasagne sheets to make the maltagliati. The no cook sauce is a simple combination of egg yolks, mascarpone, grana and nutmeg. Of course, you can use other pasta types instead.
6) Pumpkin tortelli.
These divine tortelli from Mantova are filled with roasted pumpkin, crushed amaretti biscuits, eggs, cheese and nutmeg. They are traditionally served on Christmas Eve dressed in a sage butter but would make a fabulous addition to any festive menu.
Other Pasta Recipes from Lombardy.
7) Braised hare ragu with pappardelle.
Based on an ancient Northern Italian dish known as ‘lepre in salmi’ in Italian, this braised hare ragu is one of the most delicious wild game recipes in the Italian kitchen. The hare meat is marinated in red wine, herbs, and spices and then braised in wine and stock until tender. In this version, cocoa powder added at the end gives the sauce an incredibly rich deep, slightly chocolaty flavor.
I served my hare ragu with pappardelle. You can use other egg noodles or even dry pasta tubes like rigatoni. Here in Northern Italy this ragu is also served with polenta.
8) Minestrone Milanese.
This hearty minestrone Milanese is a super nutritious Italian vegetable soup from Milan, the capital of Lombardy. This soup is thicker than most other minestrone soups and full of healthy seasonal vegetables, protein-rich beans, and aromatic herbs. Add rice or pasta and serve it the Italian way with grated Parmigiano and a dash of extra virgin olive oil.
9) Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese.
Baked pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese is a well-knonw delicious vegetarian buckwheat pasta dish from the town of Teglio in the Valtellina, a very beautiful and fertile valley in the Italian Alps. The combination of buckwheat pasta, savoy cabbage, potatoes, butter and cheese make this typical hearty and warming mountain fare perfect for the cold season! You can serve this dish baked or unbaked.
10) Sausage pasta alla Monzese.
Pasta alla Monzese is a rich pasta recipe based on a traditional risotto recipe from the Brianza area in Lombardy. This creamy sausage and saffron pasta is actually surprisingly simple to make and has just 4 main ingredients. However, it’s the combination of those ingredients makes this one of the most flavourful sausage pasta recipes I know.
Gnocchi recipes from Lombardy.
11) Spinach and bread gnocchi (strangolapreti).
These delicious spinach and bread gnocchi, known as strangolapreti, are traditional in Eastern Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige. Made with bread, spinach, eggs and cheese or flour, strangolapreti are most often eaten with a simple sage and butter sauce dressing or in broth. Super tasty and comforting, these gnocchi are a super zero waste recipe that uses up leftover stale bread and even cooked spinach.
12) Gnocchi with Taleggio.
This creamy gnocchi with taleggio recipe is a fabulous easy-to-make dish from Lombardy. All you need is just 5 main ingredients and very little preparation to make this seriously delicious recipe which combines Italian taleggio cheese with pears and speck and fresh potato gnocchi. You can serve this dish baked or unbaked. Both ways are super tasty!
Other regional pasta recipe collections.
Pasta recipes from Piedmont/Piemonte.
12 pasta recipes from Marche.
Emilia-Romagna pasta recipes.
Pasta recipes from Rome.
Let me know what you think.
Of course, there are many more gnocchi and pasta recipes from Lombardy to discover. I have published some others but the ones in this collection are my current favorites. Plus, I have quite a few on my to-make list I look forward to sharing here in the future.
In the meantime, if you do try any of these 12 pasta recipes from Lombardy, I’d love to hear what you think. Please write a comment here on the blog or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.
Your feedback means a lot to me!
Buon Appetito!
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