The signature secondo of the Valle d'Aosta in north-west Italy: a bone-in veal rib chop pocketed and filled with Fontina DOP and a slice of cooked ham, then breaded and fried in butter until the crust is golden and the cheese inside runs. The chop is butterflied almost to the bone so it opens like a book, the filling sealed in, and the whole thing dredged through flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs before frying. It should not be confused with the plain Cotoletta alla Milanese, which is simply a breaded veal cutlet with no filling; here the defining feature is the molten Fontina-and-ham heart, the «alla valdostana» mark of ham and the region's own cheese. It is served hot, often with a green salad or potatoes.
The dish belongs to the Valle d'Aosta, the small bilingual Alpine region whose cooking is built around Fontina — a raw cow's-milk cheese documented in the valley since at least the 15th century and granted DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) status in 1996. Across Valdostan cooking the label «alla valdostana» reliably signals a filling of ham and Fontina, and this chop is its most famous expression. Its exact origin is unrecorded; it is generally taken to be a 20th-century elaboration of the breaded cutlet, enriching the Lombard Cotoletta alla Milanese with the mountain pairing of melting cheese and ham rather than a dish of great antiquity. The veal is Aosta-Valley-bred where possible, and the cheese is the genuine Fontina Val d'Aosta rather than a generic «fontina».
A shattering, deep-gold crust gives way to veal that stays juicy from the quick fry, and then to the centre — a pull of soft, nutty Fontina, faintly grassy, threaded with the salty savour of the ham. The cheese should ooze when cut, not sit in a firm lump, and the breadcrumb shell should crackle, fried crisp in foaming butter rather than soaked greasy. A correct one is crisp outside and molten within with the bone still in for flavour; a poor one is pale and soft because the butter wasn't hot enough, or dry inside because the chop was overcooked and the cheese has gone rubbery.
Fontina is one of the great melting cheeses: aged only a few months, it stays high in moisture and fat and low in acidity, so when its casein proteins warm and loosen they flow rather than tighten into strings — which is why the centre runs instead of seizing. Butter is the traditional frying fat for its flavour, but its milk solids brown and burn easily, so it is used clarified or eked out with a little oil to raise the smoke point; the breadcrumb coat then browns by the Maillard reaction into the deep-gold, savoury crust while shielding the lean veal from the fierce heat. Sealing the chop well at the edges is the critical step: if the pocket gapes, the molten cheese escapes into the pan instead of staying in the meat. A brief fry keeps the thin veal from drying as the crust sets.
Variations
Some cooks use a pork chop in place of veal, and a few butterfly a boneless slice instead of pocketing a bone-in chop. Prosciutto cotto (cooked ham) is standard, though cured prosciutto is sometimes used; the cheese is properly Fontina Val d'Aosta. It descends directly from the Lombard Cotoletta alla Milanese, the plain breaded veal cutlet, and is the cheese-and-ham member of the broad «cordon bleu» family of stuffed, breaded cutlets. The same «alla valdostana» treatment — topped or filled with Fontina and ham — is applied to other meats and to dishes such as polenta in the region.
On the Palate
Where Costoletta alla Valdostana sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Seal the stuffed pocket airtight before breading — if the edge gapes, the molten Fontina escapes into the pan instead of running in the meat when you cut it.
Ingredients
Serves 2
How it's made
7 steps · 30 min active + 5 min waiting
- 16 min
Take a thick bone-in veal rib chop and, with a sharp knife, cut a deep horizontal pocket into the meat, slicing almost to the bone so it opens like a book.
- 24 min
Lay a slice of cooked ham and a few thin slices of Fontina inside, fold the chop closed, and press the open edge firmly to seal so the cheese cannot leak.
Watch outPress the edge until it holds shut on its own — tug-test it gently; any gap now becomes a leak on the stove.
- 35 min
Season lightly, then dredge the chop in flour, dip it in beaten egg, and coat it all over in fine breadcrumbs, pressing them on well.
- 43 min
Heat plenty of butter (clarified, or with a little oil) in a heavy pan until foaming but not browning.
- 55 min
Lay in the chop and fry over medium heat until the underside is deep gold, about 4-5 minutes.
Watch outThe first side is ready when it's deep gold, not pale — lift a corner to check before you commit to the flip.
- 65 min
Turn carefully and fry the other side until equally golden and the cheese has melted inside, another 4-5 minutes.
Watch outFeel for a soft, yielding centre through the crust — that give tells you the Fontina inside has melted.
- 72 min
Lift out, drain briefly on paper, and serve at once while the centre is molten, with a green salad or potatoes.
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