Typical Products

A very rich table, that of Friuli Venezia Giulia, a legacy of the many peoples who have made its history. You can taste Central European, Slavic, Mediterranean, and Venetian influences accompanied by the flavors of the simple and genuine dishes of the mountain and countryside peasant cuisine. Among all, the famous San Daniele raw ham and the wines from over 1,700 wineries, divided among nine DOC and DOCG areas, certainly stand out. They are great whites – Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, Verduzzo, Malvasia – and robust reds such as, among others, Refosco, Cabernet, Schioppettino, Merlot, and Pinot Nero, in addition to the sweet Ramandolo and Picolit, a prized meditation wine. Following the “Strada dei vini doc Aquileia” is a way to pair some of them with the remarkable local gastronomy. From the Adriatic comes the freshness of crustaceans and mollusks, the sardines from the Gulf of Trieste, the “boreto” from Grado, the scampi “a la busara” of Istrian memory, the “ribaltavapori” fry from Marano Lagunare.

The hinterland offers trout, particularly smoked like the Regina di San Daniele, but above all meat with the Gorizian goulash, the omnipresent muset and brovada, cotechino with grated turnips macerated in pomace, and the many sausages: smoked speck from Sauris, cooked ham from Trieste, raw hams from San Daniele and Cormons, pitina, salamis, pancettas, and lards. The many pastures and the long tradition of turnary dairies provide a tasty variety of cheeses, from Montasio to smoked ricotta, the most well-known, to the more particular ones like the flavorful formadi frant, obtained from the processing of cheeses of different ages, and Asìno, compact or tender, creamy and spreadable, and always salty. Cheese is also the base of frico, a delicious pie in a soft or crunchy version, perfect with polenta. The cold winter climate has suggested numerous hot dishes, among which the cjarsons of Carnia, a sort of sweet and savory ravioli, the plum gnocchi from the Gorizia area, the barley and bean soup, the Triestine jota, made with sour cabbage, potatoes, beans, pork rinds, and, in the Gorizian version, barley.

The peasant tradition has handed down the use of wild herbs in omelets and risottos, alone like nettles or silene (locally called “lidum” or “sclopit”) or mixed joyfully as in the Pestàt of Fagagna, a roll of lard, salt, pepper, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, rosemary, and sage. Many sweets of Slavic and Central European influence, locally revisited, such as gubana and its variants putizza, presnitz, and, in the form of cookies, strucchi. From Veneto come the carnival sweets, crostoli and fritole, from the mountains the Esse di Raveo, crunchy and crumbly shortbread cookies. And then Friuli Venezia Giulia offers Julia Dop apples, grappas, honey, asparagus, olive oil from the Triestine Riviera and the Friuli hills... The visit to I Borghi più belli d’Italia of the region will therefore be an inviting opportunity to taste the endless delicacies and verify their appetizing goodness.

Typical dessert of the Valli del Natisone with Austro-Bohemian influence, it owes its name to the Slovenian “guba” which means “fold”. It is indeed folded to create a spiral with a rich filling of dried fruit, sultanas, and spices flavored with liqueur, and then served in slices drizzled with slivovitz, plum brandy.

In the Pordenone area of Val Tramontina, it was used to preserve the meat of sheep, goats, chamois, or roe deer. Minced, mixed into a meatball shape with salt, garlic, black pepper, and spices, they were coated in cornmeal and left to dry by the fireplace and then in a ventilated area. Similar are the Peta of Andreis and the Petuccia of Claut.