Sciatt Valtellinesi

Sciatt means 'toads' in the dialect of Valtellina, and the name is apt. These fritters emerge from the oil lumpy and irregular, with the mottled brown color of creatures that live near mountain streams. They are not pretty. They are, however, perfect.

Valtellina sits in the far north of Lombardy, pressed against Switzerland, where buckwheat grows in terraced fields and alpine cattle produce the milk for Bitto cheese. The cooking here has nothing to do with the risottos of Milan or the filled pastas of Bergamo. It is mountain food, shaped by cold winters and what grows at altitude. Buckwheat is the foundation, as it is throughout this region, giving sciatt their distinctive earthy, slightly bitter character.

The technique is simple but demands attention. The batter must be thin enough to flow around the cheese but thick enough to hold it captive. The oil must be hot enough to seal the exterior quickly, trapping the cheese inside where it melts into strings. You eat them immediately, while the outside shatters and the inside pulls. They do not wait. They do not reheat. They exist for the moment between the fryer and your mouth.