Cavalese is a municipality in the province of Trento, part of the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme. A town that was once equipped with mills, sawmills and copper workshops, chosen as a holiday resort by nobles and bishops, famous for its terrace-like shape that offers an unparalleled view over the entire valley. The old town centre still contains all that historicity, but also modernity with an ice palace where you can skate even in summer and a municipal swimming pool with a whirlpool as well as noteworthy ski facilities and a cycle path directly on the mountain.
Appreciated today not only for its scenic beauty and historical sites but also for its cuisine, Italian pride in the world, full of excellent dishes that you can taste directly in Val di Fiemme or reproduce at home.
A very interesting and tasty dish that you absolutely must try in Cavalese is the Sfoglia di pasta di rale al Formae Val Fiemme e Verza, proposed by chef Stefano Tait of the Costa Salici Restaurant, a place of excellence for the culinary tradition of Trentino. A rich, tasty dish, the essence of the territory.
To prepare it you need a procedure that is divided into two phases, one for making the Savoy cabbage and one for the pastry.
Chef Stefano Tait
To make the puff pastry, you need:
100 g rye flour
60 g buckwheat flour
60 g wholemeal flour
15 g hemp flour
2 whole eggs
To proceed, the various types of flour must be mixed together using a sieve so that no lumps form. Then add the eggs and knead the mixture until it forms a smooth dough. It is important to knead with your hands until you have a stable dough. Then you can roll out the dough with a rolling pin, even better if you have a pasta machine. Since it is a sheet of pasta, it is important that the result is very thin.
Once the dough is well rolled out, you can cut it into rectangles, which will form the shelves of the sheet. Cook in boiling salted water for 3 minutes.
To make the savoy cabbage, you need:
200 g fresh Savoy cabbage
Half an onion
Half a clove of garlic
Cut and wash the cabbage thoroughly to remove any impurities. Dry them lightly with a cloth or let the excess water drain off. Pour a generous amount of oil into a frying pan, add the finely chopped onion and garlic. Once these ingredients are browned, add the cabbage. The cabbage should be cooked over a low heat.
Procedure for the Val Fiemme Formae fondue:
240 g of Formae Val Fiemme
230 gr of milk
230 g cream
Add the cheeses, milk and cream to a bowl and let them melt very slowly, stirring continuously so as not to burn the mixture..
Procedure for assembling and cooking the dish
Once all the ingredients are ready we are going to create the final dish. In a medium-sized baking dish place the puff pastry, the Trentingrana cheese, the braised Savoy cabbage and finally the fondue. You can repeat for at least a couple of layers, depending on personal taste. Care must be taken during this process and the ingredients must not be crushed under any circumstances as this may break the layer underneath. Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes at 200 degrees (also 7 minutes if the oven is ventilated). Preheat before placing in the baking tin.
To garnish and make the dish crispy, you can add bacon or pancetta, lightly sautéed as desired. This is the typical recipe with all the steps but it is also possible to vary it with some details as you like.
Obviously, for the success of the dish, it is essential to choose quality products, and we have used those of the Caseificio Sociale Val di Fiemme. Carefully following the cooking time allows you to obtain a dish with different consistencies, absolutely tasty.
