Fish specialties from Passeirtal and Pustertal Valleys
14 February is Ash Wednesday: with Shrove Tuesday, the carnival period ends and for Catholics, Lent begins until Easter. Far from everyone abstaining from meat for 40 days, but on Ash Wednesday fish is on the menu for many. Do you also traditionally have fish on the table after Shrove Tuesday and are looking for appetizing alternatives? We have two recommendations for you of fine fish specialties from South Tyrol.
Stefan Schiefer, who currently runs the family fish business.
SchieferFish from South Tyrol
The origins of fish breeding in St. Leonhard in Passeier date back some 120 years, to the early 1900s. The first fish species were the marble trout and the brown trout. Since the 1970s, new fish species such as rainbow trout, Arctic and brook trout have been added, and over the decades the facility has been renovated and expanded several times. Stefan Schiefer now runs the family business and, like his ancestors, relies on spring and mountain stream water as well as high-quality feed to rear his fish. In addition, there is the knowledge that is passed down from generation to generation and the respect for nature. For example, Stefan Schiefer also participates in a species protection program to preserve the highly endangered marble trout.
Schiefer's marinated salmon trout offers a very special taste experience!
SchieferMarinated salmon trout
In addition to live fish, the Schiefer fish farm also sells various fish specialties such as fresh whole trout, cold-smoked Passeier char or hot-smoked salmon trout fillet. In addition to fish grown and processed in-house, the farm shop in St. Leonhard in Passeier also has seafood from international partners. The marinated salmon trout offers a special taste experience: we discovered, bought and tasted the marinated trout packaged in glass and were thrilled.
Young entrepreneur with passion - Salmone Dolomiti
In 2020, Benedikt Röser founded Salmone Dolomiti, Europe's highest salmon smokehouse, at the Mittersteiner Hof in Villabassa. High-quality Scottish salmon is processed into delicious specialities at an altitude of 1,200 metres. Young salmon weighing 2 to 3 kg and low in fat from the Wester Ross family business are delivered on ice - but not frozen - directly from Scotland to South Tyrol. At the MittersteinerHof in Alta Pusteria they are salted and, after a rest period, smoked with mountain apple and juniper wood in the cold store.
Benedikt Röser, the founder of Salmone Dolomiti in Niederdorf.
Benedikt Röser
Smoked salmon is excellent for tasty aperitifs.
Benedikt Röser
An 'Alpine Region' tasting board with various types of salmon offered by Salmone Dolomiti.
Benedikt RöserTasting package
To finish, the delicate smoke aroma is refined with Alpine herbs or coloured pepper. Have we made your mouth water? You can order smoked salmon, but also tinned smoked salmon tartare and cold-smoked salmon trout via the Salmone Dolomiti online shop. Your order will leave with environmentally friendly packaging that will keep the goods at the right temperature. If you would like to try the entire range of fish specialities, we recommend the 'Alpine Region' tasting package. At certain times or by prior arrangement by telephone, it is also possible to shop directly on the farm, and sometimes you can even order fresh salmon in advance.
A curiosity: both trout and Atlantic salmon belong to the salmon family. And salmon trout is not a species but a trade name for trout (mainly rainbow trout) with reddish flesh.
