Buckwheat Pizzoccheri.
This is a simple, Northern-Italian mountain dish and one of life’s greatest pleasures.
Pizzoccheri.
From its textures to taste, oozing warmth and cosy smell, this is a feat in simple yet clever country cooking, making a little go a long way through a perfect combination of a handful of inexpensive ingredients and their dextrous use.
Layers of short and flat buckwheat pasta sandwiched with pieces of mountain cheese and gently cooked strips of cabbage and potato cubes finished with a generous pouring of melted butter infused with garlic and sage, it is as hearty as it is balanced and unimaginably easy to make, fully and whole-heatedly (and not without nutrition!) satisfying a large crowd.
Buckwheat is an Alpine cereal originating from Siberia that has been grown in the Valtellina region of Italy since the seventeenth century. It is highly nutritious being rich in protein, fibre, zinc and copper and numerous antioxidants, and often considered a superfood; buckwheat is low in GI and said to lower blood sugar levels. A gluten-free “pseudo-“ grain, buckwheat can be used in savoury as well as sweet dishes. It has a distinct nutty taste which can come across as bitter to some people, and so is often combined with other flour in baking.
Traditionally, pizzoccheri are made with 80% buckwheat flour and 20% white flour. It is possible to find them ready-made in Italian delis, but they are also easy enough to make your own. Use 100% buckwheat flour to make the dish fully gluten free.
To make them yourself, combine 400g of buckwheat flour with 100g of white flour and work the dough for 5 minutes with water. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 2-3mm and cut into 5cm strips.
As for the cheese, traditionally there is only one cheese used for pizzoccheri – the Valtellina Casera PDO cheese - together with some grated Parmesan. It is of course possible to substitute this for another mountainous, semi-hard cow’s cheese such as the Bitto, also from Valtelina, or a Fontina or Gruyere.
Simple it may be but serious nonetheless, there is a whole “Academia” in Italy devoted to the accurate preparation and promotion of the original recipe that it has codified. It is situated in Teglio, the pizzocchero’s home town and worth a visit to try “the real thing” in its home surroundings.
From the wholesome grittiness of the pasta to the soft and savoury melted cheese, the woody cabbage and creamy potatoes and oozey, garlicky sage butter, this is a real mountain masterpiece and a recipe to keep on hand for an easy and fail-safe crowd pleasing pasta dish . The idea can be replicated with other vegetables (such as chard or runner beans), cheeses and pasta (try spelt). The potatoes however should always be present as they add an important creaminess to the dish – similar to the traditional Pesto all Genovese.
Serve in a traditional Piemontese menu with some Bresaola or other mountain charcuterie to start and a sweet but not-too-fatty, preferably cold pudding. The famous regional Bonet – a baked chocolate milk pudding; find the recipe in February’s Thoughtfully Delicious – or simple seasonal fruit such as persimmon will work perfectly. Or something punchy and citrusy like an orange bavarese or a light mousse.
Ingredients
Serves 4
Potatoes, 2 small or 250g
Savoy cabbage, 1 medium or 200g
Butter, 200g
Casera cheese, 250g
Parmesan, 150g
Garlic cloves, 2-4 (traditionally just 1 is used)
Sage leaves, 20-25 odd
Pizzoccheri, 340g dry pasta
Black pepper
1. Bring a pan of salted water to boil.
2. Cut the cabbage into small strips and peel and cube the potatoes into small pieces.
3. Melt the butter in a pan on a low to medium heat and add the garlic cloves. Lightly colour without browning for five minutes. Then add the sage leaves for another five minutes until crispy. Set the mixture aside.
4. Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook for five minutes.
5. Add the cabbage to the potatoes and cook for a further five minutes.
6. In the mean time cut the Casera cheese into small strips and grate the Parmesan.
7. Add the pizzoccheri to the pan and cook everything for a further 13 minutes.
8. With a slotted spoon, take out a third of the pasta/vegetable mixture and make a single layer in a warm dish. Distribute a handful of the Casera cheese and a layer of the grated Parmesan. Continue for two more layers this way. At the end, take the garlic out of the butter and pour the melted butter mixture all over the top and finish with lots of fresh pepper. Serve without mixing.
