Graubünden Cuisine

Graubünden Cuisine

Graubünden, with its myriad dialects and potent blend of Latin and German blood, has a cuisine as novel and unexpected as its culture. The Graubünden idea of fast food is a salsiz (a kind of small, rectangular-shape salami) and a piece of bread. Besides regional specialties like the ubiquitous Bündnerfleisch (air-dried beef pressed into rectangular loaves and shaved into translucent slices), Gerstensuppe (barley soup), and Nusstorte (shortbread with a chewy walnut-and-caramel filling), you will find a broad range of international cooking, notably in the larger resorts. Italian influence is strong and the Germanic Spätzli (tiny flour dumplings) coexist with gnocchi, risotto, and polenta.

You may feel you've stepped back into the Middle Ages when you sit down to pizzoccheri neri (buckwheat noodles with greens and potatoes, swimming in garlic butter and melted cheese) or to maluns (grated potatoes stirred in pools of butter until they form crisp balls). Capuns or chrutcapuns are bundles of Swiss chard smothered in butter and cheese and flavored with dried meat. These down-to-earth treats are making a comeback in either traditional or more modern interpretations. Year-round, but especially in fall, many menus feature wild game: the centuries-old hunting tradition is especially strong in this canton. Look for Reh or Hirsch (roe or red deer) and Gems (chamois), usually served with red cabbage, fruits, and chestnuts or in a Pfeffer (strongly flavored, peppery stew).

Most restaurants' wine lists include a selection of the red pinot noir and white Riesling Sylvaner from the Bündnerherrschaft region around Maienfeld, Jenins, and Malans as well as the hearty red Nebbiolo of the Veltlin. The latter is actually grown over the southern border in Valtellina, which was ceded to Italy in 1815, but some quantities have always been brought in bulk into the canton for bottling and can be considered, at least in spirit, to be Swiss. As an alternative to wine, try one of the regional mineral waters: Valser, Passugger, or Rhäzünzer.

Many restaurants in resort towns close from the end of April to mid-June and October to December; there are variations and exceptions, of course, so if you plan a visit in the off-season, check in advance.