Back in the day, farmers in the northern Italian region of Lombardia could rarely afford the luxury of wheat flour. Necessity is the mother of invention, as evidenced by one of their extraordinary creations that relies primarily on their “poor” substitute: buckwheat flour.
Pizzoccheri is an unusual pasta made predominantly from buckwheat (which isn’t wheat at all) and just enough wheat to hold the dough together. It’s boiled before finished in a casserole dish, along with some other economical ingredients, potatoes and savoy cabbage (along with plenty of cheese). Don’t be fooled by the humble ingredients, this creative recipe is absolutely delicious and shows, once again, how “poor” food can sometimes be the richest.
A Note on the Traditional Cooking Method
Traditionally, this dish wasn’t baked at all. Once the potatoes, cabbage and pasta were boiled, they were assembled in a casserole dish, then placed back on top of the pot of boiling water with a towel on top. The steam from the pot, trapped underneath the towel, would melt the cheese and finish the dish.
You can repeat this method, of course, as we did in the video below. However, it does introduce some challenges in that you need to use a dish that can rest on top of the pot while still allowing steam to escape. Beyond that, placing a towel over a pot and burner does pose a fire hazard and sometimes the quality (or lack thereof) of Asiago cheese will prevent it from melting with steam alone.
A more modern approach is to simply bake the pasta under a broiler to melt the cheese. While it may not be traditional, it is an accepted technique and will yield excellent results.
Watch the Pasta Grammar video:
PIZZOCCHERI DELLA VALTELLINA RECIPE
Makes: One 2-quart baked pasta, serves 4 to 6
Cook Time: 1 ½ hours
For this recipe, you will need:
2 cups (200 g) buckwheat flour, plus extra for dusting
½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
⅔ cup (150 ml) warm water
Salt
6 ½ tablespoons (100 g) unsalted butter
1 clove garlic
½ large russet potato, peeled and cubed
¼ savoy cabbage head, chopped
7 ounces (200 g) Asiago cheese, chopped
5 ounces (150 g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or to taste
Thoroughly mix the buckwheat and all-purpose flour together. Pour the combined flours into a pile on a large work surface and hollow out the center to form a volcano shape. Pour the warm water into the center and add a pinch of salt.
With a fork, begin whisking the water while gradually incorporating the surrounding flour. Once a thick slurry forms, fold the rest of the flour in by hand and begin kneading the dough. Knead until the flour and water are well-incorporated. The consistency should be similar to clay, but not too sticky. If the dough is very dry, you can add a little more water. If it remains sticky you can dust it with a little more buckwheat flour as necessary and keep kneading.
When the dough is thoroughly mixed, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Lightly dust the dough with buckwheat flour and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a big circle with even thickness—about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Cut the circle into 3 inch (7.5 cm) wide strips. Dust the strips with buckwheat flour and stack them on top of each other, then slice them into ¼ inch (7 mm) wide pieces. The result should be short noodles that are about 3 inches long and ¼ inch wide. Carefully separate the stacked pasta pieces, dust them with buckwheat, and place them on a tray for later.
Put a large pot of water on to boil and salt it generously. While the water heats up, you can prep the butter sauce. Place the butter in a small pan. Crush the garlic clove with your palm but leave the skin on, then add this to the pan. Melt the butter over medium/low heat and let it brown slightly. Remove and discard the garlic, and turn off the heat.
Preheat the high broiler of your oven.
Add the cubed potatoes into the boiling water and cook them for 3 minutes. Add the chopped savoy cabbage and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Finally, add the pasta. Do so carefully (the pasta is delicate!) and very gently stir the pasta into the water to make sure the individual pieces are separate. Boil the pasta for 10 minutes.
Using a slotted ladle, thoroughly drain and transfer half of the pasta, cabbage and potatoes into the bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish. Evenly spread half of the Asiago and Parmigiano cheese on top, then cover with the remaining pasta and vegetables. Finally, top all with the remaining cheeses and drizzle the browned butter over all.
Bake the dish on a high rack for a few minutes, until the cheese on top has melted and is beginning to crisp. Serve immediately.
Buon appetito!