The best typical food in Milan
Trying food of the place you are visiting or living in is something very important to understand the culture of a city; Italian cuisine is not only pasta and pizza, every region (there are twenty..) has typical dishes, appetizers, desserts and so on..
There is also a (false) conviction that the best food in Italy is in the South of the country, but today we are going to break this stereotype and discover together the best Milanese dishes and, of course, where to find these fantastic meals.
Most of next dishes we are going to recommend you can be find in several Milanese “Trattoria” or “Osteria”, old-school cheap restaurants usually family owned (run from third or sometimes fourth generation). In this way the culinary tradition stay untouched and eat in these places is exactly like 100 years ago.
RISOTTO ALLA MILANESE:
Every person from Milan literally love this main dish!
Made with lard (instead of butter), beef stock and beef bone marrow plus saffron (this is TOP!), this speciality of Milan is a typical autumn/winter food.
A manuscript reveals that this is a typical milanese dish since 1574! Of course, it is not indicated for vegans or vegetarians, but you can always ask for “Risotto alla Milanese” without beef.
One of the best place to eat it is: Trattoria Masuelli S.Marco, Viale Umbria, 80
CASSOEULA:
This savoy cabbage based dish is great to eat in winter time when outside is cold and you want to enjoy typical food from Milan. It includes pork rind, pig’s trotters, spare rib and pig’s head.
The taste is unique, and we suggest to go here: Al Matarel, Via Laura Solera Mantegazza, 2
NERVETTI:
Veal-cartilage salad called in Milan “Nervetti” is a typical appetizer during christmas time.
It can be a bit strange eating this soft nerve but for sure it deserves a chance. It can be found in many butcher stores in town or at “Peck”: A gastronomy shop close to Duomo.
COTOLETTA ALLA MILANESE:
This little rib is a fried cutled cooked “bone-in!” and fried in butter. This is one of the favourite dishes of Milanese children, usually combined by french fries, roasted or mashed potatoes, it is one of the greatest food in the world, isn’t it?
Where to eat it? Trattoria Arlati, via Alberto Nota 47, Milano
POLENTA:
Made by boiling cornmeal a thick, solidified porridge and than grilled, fried or baked. It is usually a side dish with meat or with liquefied tasty cheese.
Also this food is great in winter time while can be a bit heavy during summer!
FORMAGGI:
Huge number of cheese varieties arrive from Milan: Gorgonzola (blue cheese) is produced since 11th century in a small village (Gorgonzola) just a few kilometres from Milan.
Quartirolo is also typical from the outskirts of Milan, while Mascarpone (made from cream coagulated by the addition of vinegar, citric acid and acetic acid) is a must have in Milaneses’ kitchens.
MICHETTA:
Working class bread from 1700 and always present in Milan houses, you can find it in every bakery shop and in some supermarkets. It’s the typical snack for children in Milan, in fact you can put inside jam, honey, nutella or cured meats.
PANETTONE:
This sort of sweet bread with raisin and candied peel is part of Milanese’s history since 9th century and it’s still now the official Christmas sweet.
It is always a great present (especially if it’s from pastry shop!) during Christmas time. The best in town are Cova and Gattullo but also in some supermarket you can find good ones.
Have you ever tried one of these typical milanese products?
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