Lombardy

The cooking of the region of Lombardy is not uniform; indeed it varies from sub-region to sub-region. Different areas are affected, both in culture and cuisine, by the neighboring regions, like the Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Piedmont, and by the climate of their location. But there are some common elements that sort of link all the regions of Lombardy, for example the use of butter usually prevails over olive oil, and rice over pasta.

Rice competes with pasta for first place on the table in this fog-enshrouded region, and often wins: it is cooked with tender spring asparagus or sweet water shrimp, tinted gold by saffron, perfumed by rosemary or sage. Lombardy relies on butter rather than olive oil, and cream is frequently on hand to make rich, sumptuous sauces. There are tortelli di zucca, squash-filled tortelli, and Brescia's casônsei, ravioli filled with sausages, potatoes, Swiss chard, and herbs. A pasta called pizzoccheri, made of buckwheat flour, is layered with cabbage, potatoes, and cheese.

Summertime often brings vitello tonnato, a cold dish of poached veal in a delicately flavorful sauce of tuna, mayonnaise, and capers. The cooler months command dishes like costolette alla milanese, breaded and fried veal chops, or bollito misto, various cuts of beef, pork, and veal boiled together in a rich broth.

Milan's càsoeûla, a stew of pig trotters, sausage, and cabbage, is hearty fare, typically accompanied by steaming hot polenta. And polenta is made not only of cornmeal but of buckwheat flour, as in polenta taragna, streaked with melting bits of cheese.

Desserts include Pavia's colomba pasquale; pan dei morti, the bread of the dead, baked on November 2; and countless crumbly, buttery, or crisp cookies, of which Amaretti di Saronno, addictive almond macaroons, are the most famous.

Among the wines not to be missed are Barbacarlo, Bonarda, Buttafuoco, Pinot, and Cortese, and the sparkling wines of Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese.