Polenta Taragna

the dark, soft, buttery polenta of the Lombard Alps made from buckwheat and maize meal together, beaten with the tarèl stick and stirred with melting mountain cheese until rich and ropy

Origin: Italy (Valtellina, Lombardy)

From the journey of Buckwheat.

Polenta taragna is the buckwheat polenta of the Lombard Alps, of the Valtellina and the neighbouring valleys of Bergamo and Brescia, and it is darker, earthier, and richer than the golden maize polenta of the lowlands. Its distinction is the buckwheat: grano saraceno meal is cooked together with ordinary maize meal, giving the polenta its characteristic grey-brown colour and deep, nutty, faintly bitter flavour. The name comes from the tarèl, the long wooden stick with which the polenta is beaten and stirred through its long cooking over the fire. Towards the end, abundant pieces of the valley's mountain cheese, Casera, Bitto, or a soft local toma, are stirred in along with plenty of butter until the whole becomes soft, glossy, and ropy with melting cheese. Eaten straight from the pot or the board, with more butter on top, it is the warming heart of the Alpine winter table and one of the two great buckwheat dishes of the Valtellina alongside pizzoccheri.

Ingredients

The Polenta

  • 150 g coarse maize polenta (cornmeal)
  • 150 g buckwheat flour
  • 1.5 litres water
  • 1.5 tsp salt

To Finish

  • 120 g butter
  • 250 g Valtellina Casera, Bitto, or a soft Alpine toma, cubed
  • black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Bring the salted water to the boil in a heavy pot. Whisking constantly to prevent lumps, rain in the maize polenta in a slow, steady stream.
  2. Reduce to a low simmer and cook the maize polenta, stirring often, for about 20 minutes. Then whisk or stir in the buckwheat flour and a little more hot water if needed.
  3. Continue to cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon (the tarèl, if you have one), for a further 20 to 25 minutes, until the polenta is thick, smooth, and comes away from the sides of the pot.
  4. Off the heat, beat in the butter and the cubed cheese, stirring vigorously until the cheese melts into ropy strands and the polenta is glossy and rich.
  5. Grind over black pepper and serve at once, very hot, straight from the pot or spread on a warm wooden board, with extra butter melting on top.

Notes

Some cooks use a ready-mixed taragna flour of maize and buckwheat together; if you have it, follow the packet and stir in butter and cheese at the end. Casera and Bitto are the authentic cheeses, but Fontina, Taleggio, or any good melting Alpine cheese works. Leftover polenta sets firm and can be sliced and fried or grilled the next day.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
© 2026 The Gastrographer. All original research, narratives, and illustrations. All rights reserved.