The typical cuisine of Trentino, with its strong links to the mountainous areas where it developed, has maintained the authenticity of nature and its attachment to locally-sourced raw materials, all skilfully blended to create tasty, nutritious dishes. Each valley in Trentino has its own recipes for you to discover and enjoy, while each recipe has its own history, rooted in the past.

Have you ever tried caponec?

A traditional dish of the Ledro Valley is caponec, a dish eaten by the poor and made with bread, herbs, parsley, garlic, eggs and grated cheese (usually Trentingrana). Peasant families would in the past prepare this dish with cabbage leaves (capùs), which is probably how it got its name. Later they would take the leaves of the strawberry grape, cultivated in the Ledro Valley for domestic use. Each leaf was carefully selected, cleaned and used to wrap the caponec mixture. Care had to be taken to let the tips protrude when wrapping and not to crack the leaf to ensure that it would not break during the cooking process. It remains a delicate task, one needing care and attention so as to safeguard a recipe so dear to those who prepare it.

The caponec taste slightly differently in each family: some make them spicier, others less so. Some recipes call for the addition of oil and lucanica sausage, while the more traditionalist among them might just add a few shavings of lard. As the recipe differs slightly in each village and in each family, a certain rivalry has now arisen between the various hamlets. In Enguiso, there is even a contest between the village families, with a jury appointed to decide on the best caponec.

From summer festivals of the Ledro Valley to family kitchens

Throughout the summer, caponec accompany the people of the Ledro Valley at their festivals, starting at the village of Tiarno di Sopra for the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in June, then continuing with the Feast of Locca in July, the Feast of Lenzumo in August and the Feast of Enguiso in September.

From being a family recipe, caponec has been transformed into a community dish and is today prepared by the local tourist offices and committees that meet the day before, dedicating an entire day to the preparation of this typical local dish. Everyone lends a hand: some picking the leaves, selecting only the finest, while others wash them, prepare the mixture or parcelling it up; yet others tie the caponec with string or cook them in a veritable team game that involves men, women and children. Indeed, it is on these occasions that the tradition is handed down, teaching the younger generations how to choose the leaves, how to knead the ingredients and how to make the traditional caponec taste so good.

This article was published in the second issue of BLU, the Garda Trentino magazine. It’s dedicated to caponec - dumplings wrapped in grape leaves – a true symbol of local tradition. Want to try them? Have a look at the page dedicated to the summer festivals!