Casoncelli da Ezio, Bergamo
Casoncelli bergamaschi — plump half-moon pasta stuffed with a sweet-savoury mix of beef, amaretti, pear mostarda and aged cheese, finished with brown butter, sage and crispy pancetta — is the dish that defines this city. At the unpretentious Trattoria Ezio in Città Alta, they have been making them by hand since 1966.
The Dish Itself
The filling's combination of meat and amaretti biscuit sounds alarming but produces a delicate, almost medieval sweetness that is entirely addictive. The brown-butter-and-sage dressing is applied tableside from a small copper pan, and the pancetta crumbled over the top adds just enough salt and crunch to balance everything.
Order a half-portion as a primo and follow it with the braised beef in red wine (manzo brasato) — a slow-cooked Bergamasque classic that the kitchen produces with quiet authority.
Where to Eat and What to Drink
Trattoria Ezio (Via Gombito 8, Città Alta) is a tiny, no-frills room with checked tablecloths and a handwritten menu that changes with the seasons — arrive by 12:30 for lunch or you will not get a table.
Pair your casoncelli with a carafe of Valcalepio Rosso, the local DOC red blended from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the hills south of Bergamo — it is rarely seen outside the province and has an earthy, food-friendly character that suits the richness of the pasta perfectly.
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