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It makes sense that, given the amount of energy one might expend hiking or after a day on the slopes, the local cuisine is tailor-made for replenishing those lost calories…
With the locals making the most of the fresh pastures and ideal fruit-growing climate to produce some wonderful local produce, the end result is a paradise of comfort food and guilty pleasures.
Let’s take a look at some of the signature dishes of the Tyrol region.
The ultimate in Austrian comfort food. Kasspatzin - or Kasknocken, as it is known in Tyrol - literally means ‘little cheesey sparrows’. Fortunately, that’s not an accurate description of this scrumptious combination of noodle-like pasta and cheese, whipped up in a skillet, sprinkled with crispy fried onions and lightly seasoned. It’s not unusual for the dish to be served in the pan it was prepared in, with the melted cheese becoming extra stringy…
These delicious pasta parcels, not unlike ravioli, are filled with cheese and potato and topped with chives or parsley and… more cheese! A yummy way to carbo-fill before a walk.
Eerily similar in ingredients and look to the aforementioned Schlutzkrapfen, this time these cheesy-potato-y parcels are fried instead of boiled, thus creating a sort of cheese, potato and chive fried empanada. We’ll lay any guilt to one side and call it ‘mountain-climbing fuel’…
This cured bacon treat can be found all over Tyrol, whether in a fancy restaurant or a hiker’s hut. It is relatively healthy, with a high unsaturated fat content and no artificial flavours or preservatives. And, of course, it’s delicious!
It looks simple – it is simple – but it tastes spectacular. Grostl is essentially onion, bacon (or speck) and potato all fried together in a pan and served with a fried egg on top and a sprinkling of parsley.
A classic of Tyrolean cuisine, and a guaranteed winter warmer: Speckknodel consists of a boiled bread dumpling, filled with bacon and served in a broth or alongside some sauerkraut and salad.
More or less the same dish as above, only it is filled with grey or mountain cheese, rather than bacon.
This creamy mountain cheese, usually made with cow’s milk, but occasionally with goat’s milk, is perfect for a little alpine fondue or to serve in an au gratin dish. It possesses a slightly piquant taste.
Tyrolean grey cheese is made from soured cow’s milk and is usually very low in fat - but high in aroma! It’s hard, brittle, texture make it perfect for crumbling into nettle soup or for stuffing into Kaspressknodel, dumplings.
This hard alpine cheese is produced using the raw milk of cow’s who have only been fed on Tyrolean pastures during the summer, where they feed on aromatic herbs and fresh alpine grass. Its less-than-timid aroma and bold, sharp flavour has been seducing the tastebuds of Tyrolean locals since the Middle Ages.
During the brief wild blueberry-growing season in late Spring, these little purple treats are gathered from all over the region and often made into moosebeernocken, somewhere between a thick pancake and a scone, before being sprinkled with powdery icing sugar. An authentic taste of the Austrian Alps!
Another Austrian classic! This familiar alpine treat is made by dipping sliced apple rings into a sweet batter before frying them, thus creating a sort of apple-doughnut. They are then topped with a light dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar.
Keeping things circular… the iconic prugeltorte is beloved as much for the fascinating method by which it is prepared as it is for its mouth-watering taste. A sweet batter is rotated on a thick, wooden spit over an open flame, with extra layers added little by little before being left to cool. The resulting long, pancake-y tube is then sliced into inch-thick circles, which are then usually filled with cream and a local berry compote.
Another iconic dessert from Austria, this time the strudel sees a long, sweet pastry casing filled with shaved apple, sugar and cinnamon and baked in the oven. Once the pastry is cooked it s then topped with powdered sugar and served warm.
Although this one is not strictly Tyrolean, any excuse to talk about this Austrian specialty should be taken. Originally dreamt up by a young chef’s apprentice, Franz Sacher, when having to fill in for his absent mentor one fateful day in 1832, this apricot filled velvety chocolate cake is still made using the same techniques today. Best served with a healthy dollop of unsweetened cream.
Saving the best for last, Kaiserschmarren – or ‘Emperor’s Mess’ – is a fluffy shredded pancake, often eaten with a tea or coffee or as a dessert – it can even ‘count’ as a light lunch. Once the pancake has been shredded it is sprinkled with raisins and topped with powdered sugar. A pot of apple sauce to drizzle over or to dip in usually accompanies it, although other fruit compotes, such as plum or apricot, also work well.
