Pizzoccheri della Valtellina · Pizzoccheri
Lombardy · pasta · serves 4 · 75 min total · medium
From the Valtellina valley high in the Alps — buckwheat for the cold heights, melted mountain cheese for the cold nights.
Ingredients
- 300 g buckwheat flour
- 100 g '00' flour
- 180 ml water
- 300 g savoy cabbage
- 300 g potatoes, cubed
- 150 g butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 10 leaves sage
- 250 g Casera or Bitto cheese, cubed
- 80 g Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1 tsp black pepper
Method
- Mix the two flours. Add water gradually, knead 8 minutes into a stiff dough. Rest 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough 2 mm thick. Cut into 7 cm × 1 cm ribbons.
- Boil salted water. Add potato cubes, 5 minutes later add chopped cabbage, 3 minutes later add the pasta. Cook everything together 5–7 minutes.
- While that cooks, melt butter with smashed garlic and sage until the butter is nut-brown. Discard the garlic.
- Drain the pasta and vegetables. Layer in a warm deep dish: noodles + veg, casera cubes, parmigiano. Repeat.
- Pour the sage butter over the top. Crack pepper. Toss only at the table — let the cheese pull.