For this Italy photo of the week, we’re in Bergamo:
I’m told that this little treat is Bergamo’s signature dessert. It’s called polenta e osei, which is the local dialect for “polenta and birds;” it’s supposed to look like a nest of a pile of polenta with a little bird nestled on the top. These, while pretty, didn’t look at all like birds to me – though the rest did look amazingly like polenta, I’ll admit. We saw them in the windows of just about every pastry shop in Bergamo, in several different sizes.
When you bite into a polenta e osei, you’ll discover that it’s a little cake with a layer of this thick fondant-like stuff (which is mixed with corn meal to produce that color) over the top. You can see what the inside looks like in this photo, which I managed to capture before the husband ate the whole thing.
Check out my other Italy photos and the other photos of the week!
{ 2 comments }
Polenta e osei!! I had the real deal (polenta and grilled birds – don’t know which exactly!) once in Brescia and had the dessert version in Bergamo. Anything with butter and chocolate is ok in my books!
I confirm that these are yummy! But you have to go to one of the charming old shops in Citta Alta – Bergamo’s ‘high town’ to get them.
And if you walk up there, you’ll burn off most of the calories that these tasty treats contain!
Cheers,
Alex
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