Polenta taragna, made with buckwheat, is a typical dish from Valtellina. The name comes from the word tarai, the stick used to constantly stir the polenta to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Historically the polenta cooking in poor families’ kitchens was black because it was made exclusively with buckwheat flour. The result was a very nutritious dish, but with a very strong taste. Those who could afford it added a little cornmeal to soften the impact on the palate, thus creating the recipe as we know it today. Excellent with the 2021 Owsley Pinot Noir.