Olympic host Cortina’s signature dish is a vivid beet-filled pasta

Italy’s regional cuisine shifts dramatically from city to city, shaped by geography, climate and history. In the Alpine town of Cortina d’Ampezzo, best known today as a glamorous winter resort, the local signature dish is far humbler — a vivid beet-filled pasta known as casunziei.

Casunziei, the beet-filled pasta at the heart of Olympic host Cortina

Often described as a ravioli-style pasta, casunziei all’Ampezzana are half-moon shaped parcels made with fresh dough and a filling of boiled red beets. They are finished simply, with browned butter, grated Parmesan and a scattering of poppy seeds. The result is both striking in colour and comforting in flavour.

The dish reflects Cortina’s past long before it became a playground for international visitors. In harsh winters, local families relied on ingredients that stored well — flour, eggs, butter and root vegetables. Casunziei could also be filled with spinach or other available produce, depending on the season.

“It’s a typical local dish,” says Stefania Constantini, a Cortina native and Olympic curling champion. “My favourite casunziei are the ones cooked by my grandmother — the spinach ones.”

Casunziei are closely tied to the region’s Ladin heritage, a culture that dates back over a thousand years in parts of the Dolomites. Today, the dish appears across Cortina’s dining scene, from rustic neighbourhood trattorias to refined restaurant menus.

At its core, casunziei is about technique rather than excess. The pasta dough is rolled thin, almost translucent, before being folded around the earthy beet filling. Once cooked, the pasta rises quickly to the surface of the water, ready to be dressed while still delicate.

Wine pairing is equally restrained. The gentle sweetness of the beets works best with a light-bodied red, often a young local pinot nero, which balances rather than overwhelms the dish.

As Cortina prepares to host several events during the upcoming Winter Olympics, casunziei stands as a reminder that the area’s culinary identity remains rooted in mountain traditions. It is a dish that reflects resilience, resourcefulness and the quiet pleasures of food shaped by place.

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