Typical specialities
- Sweet
- Engadine nut tart (walnuts & caramel)
- Savoury
- Capuns, pizzoccheri, maluns, Bündnerfleisch
- Cheese
- Grisons mountain cheese, alpine cheese
- Drink
- Röteli (cherry liqueur)
The cuisine of the high valley
Engadine and Grisons cuisine is hearty, honest and perfect for the mountain climate. It combines alpine tradition with Italian influences from the nearby south – the border with the Valtellina is only a pass away. Anyone travelling to the Engadine should be sure to try the regional classics. Here are the most important, from main course to dessert.
Engadine nut tart
The sweet ambassador of the region: the Engadine nut tart, a shortcrust pastry filled with caramelised walnuts. The recipe was brought home by Engadine confectioners who ran patisseries across Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries; it has been baked commercially in the Engadine since the early 20th century. It keeps for a long time and is rich. Today you find the tart in every good village patisserie – a piece of Engadine history to enjoy.
Capuns
Capuns are a Grisons classic: spätzli dough with pieces of dried meat or salsiz, wrapped in chard leaves, simmered in stock with milk and served with cheese and butter. A hearty, warming dish that appears on many inn menus and is prepared a little differently in almost every family. A true comfort food after a day at altitude.
Pizzoccheri
From the nearby Valtellina come pizzoccheri, short buckwheat ribbon pasta with savoy cabbage, potatoes, mountain cheese and plenty of butter, often refined with sage. A hearty example of the Italian influences that shape Engadine cuisine – warming, filling and irresistible.
More classics
You should also try Grisons barley soup, the warming soup with barley, vegetables and dried meat, as well as maluns, grated potatoes slowly roasted in butter, traditionally served with apple purée and mountain cheese. And of course Grisons air-dried beef and salsiz, the cantonal specialities that develop their unmistakable flavour in the dry mountain air. Add a regional mountain cheese – and the Engadine is on your plate.
Sweets and drinks
Alongside the nut tart, other Engadine sweets and a lively café culture beckon. In the patisseries, a hot chocolate or a coffee with home-made pastry is part of the ritual. Those who like it regional try local beers or a Valtellina wine from the neighbouring valley.
Where to try?
Engadine specialities can be found in village inns, mountain restaurants and patisseries of the region – from the simple tavern to fine dining. Those who cook for themselves find the ingredients in local shops; your own Engadine dinner in a holiday apartment with a mountain view is an experience in itself. A fondue or raclette evening rounds off the holiday day perfectly. Holiday apartments with a kitchen
More inspiration in the Journal – or view the holiday apartments and check availability.
