Pizzoccheri della Valtellina

Pizzoccheri is a Northern Italian dish almost unknown in North America. It originates in Valtellina (known as Valtelline or Val Telline in English), a valley at the very top of Lombardy.

Despite the name, Pizzoccheri has nothing to do with pizza. It is a first course centered around a special pasta made of buckwheat flour, a type of grain also called Saracen corn ('grano Saraceno' in Italian). The recognizable hearty flavor and coarse texture of buckwheat pasta is almost absent from Italian cuisine, but it marries perfectly with potatoes, cabbage, butter and the Valtellina Casera cheese (also indigenous of Valtellina) to make a very unique dish.

As detailed by its official website, Valtellina Casera is a medium-ripening, semi-cooked PDO cheese (see the 'Formaggio Cheese' post for more information on cheese classification) exclusively produced in Valtellina and made with partly skimmed cow milk. For the preparation of Pizzoccheri, Valtellina Casera is used when just over its minimum aging of 70 days while its flavor is delicate and milky and before it turns more intense.

In Italy, dried buckwheat pasta specifically cut for use in Pizzoccheri can be bought in stores. However, it can also be easily made from scratch without particular equipment.

For about 200 g of Pizzoccheri pasta

A vegetable mincer can be used
to make parallel cuts.

1) Mix 100 g of buckwheat flour with 50 g of white flour and a pinch of salt.
2) Work in about ½ cup of water until an elastic dough is formed. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
3) Roll the dough into a sheet 2-3 millimeters thick.
4) Cut the sheet into small rectangles of about 0.5 by 5 cm.
5) Using a spatula, separate the rectangles from the cutting board.
6) Place the pieces on a floured plate (sprinkling with more flour before overlapping them).

Now continue with the second part of the recipe.

Ingredients for 2-3 people
- 200 g fresh Pizzoccheri pasta (the same amount of dried pasta can also be used).
- 250 g potatoes (2 small, diced).
- 150 g Savoy cabbage (sliced). For a more delicate flavor, it can be replaced or mixed with spinach.
- 100 g Valtellina Casera cheese (thinly sliced). It can be replaced with other, easier to find, mild semi-cooked cheeses (such as young Fontina, Montasio, Raclette or Gouda).
- 20 g Parmigiano cheese (grated).
- 50 g unsalted butter.
- 3 cloves of garlic (crushed).
- 2 or 3 leaves of fresh sage (optional).
- Salt and black pepper.

Preparation
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (using ½ tablespoon of salt per liter of water).
- Add the potatoes and the cabbage to the boiling water.
- Let the vegetables cook for 10 minutes (or only for 5 minutes if using dried pasta).
- Toss the (uncooked) pasta into the boiling water and keep cooking for another 5 minutes (or 10 minutes if using dried pasta).
- Meanwhile, melt the butter with the garlic and the sage in it; roast until the garlic is golden, then discard both.
- Drain the pasta and vegetables mix.
- At this point start assembling the dish directly into each individual bowl. To ensure that the cheese will melt, start layering the ingredients alternating some of the pasta and vegetables with a sprinkle of Parmigiano, a few cheese slices and some melted butter. Repeat 2 or 3 times using up all of the ingredients, ending with a layer of pasta and vegetables and a sprinkle of Parmigiano.
- Add some black pepper and serve immediately without stirring.

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Pizzoccheri della Valtellina Paolo @ DisgracesOnTheMenu Pizzoccheri is a first course centered around a special pasta made of buckwheat flour, a type of grain also called Saracen corn ('grano Saraceno' in Italian). 01/14/2011 1 hour pizzoccheripastaValtellinabuckwheat flour