The pasta, I bought in Italy. For cheese, I found a fontina-like cheese, with truffles from Trader Joe's. I thought the truffles might be totally off base, but they're not! I just saw a recipe using them, on the Italian website for Moro. I'm craving truffles and this cheese is the real thing, from Italy. Thank you Trader Joe's.
Alessandro brought me a box of Pizzoccheri della Valtellina, but I never used it, always hoping he would fix this traditional dish for me. It was fun to spend a Friday night preparing this, with Alessandro close to my heart. Sort of like a date night.
Pizzoccheri is a buckwheat pasta, a specialty from the northern Italian region of Lombardia. The traditional recipe calls for a local cheese called Valtellina Casera cheese, but a mild semi-cooked cheese such as Fontina, Montasio, Raclette or Gouda can be used. I see that other vegetables and also be used: Spinach, green beans or bok choy.
Before starting, I checked on Giallozafferano and watched their video on preparation. They suggest warming the serving dish in a nice hot oven, which I did. That was a great idea. The cheeses melted immediately, right into the pasta. No baking is necessary, although some recipes call for a short 10 minute bake or a minute under the broiler.
I made half a recipe, hoping to have a serving for two. I could not bear to use all the butter called for (1/2 cube!). I used 12 g of butter. But I did follow the amount of cheese called for. An enormous amount of cheese for two servings.
When I had finished preparing the recipe, it actually looked like enough for four people. This dish is 100% comfort food. Fabulous! I had to restrain myself from over-eating. I think this dish would appeal to everyone, even children.
I did not use Benedetta's recipe after all. She had substituted green beans for the traditional savoy cabbage. Instead, I followed the recipe on the box of Pizzoccheri.
Traditional Pizzoccheri
Serves 4-6
320 g Pizzoccheri pasta
160 g potatoes, cut into cubes
125 g butter (25g was ok)
125 g Savoy cabbage, sliced
160 g semi-soft cheese, such as Fontina
100 g Parmigiano or Grana, grated
2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
Warm a serving dish in the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Add the potatoes and cabbage. Boil for 5 minutes.
Add the pasta to the vegetables and boil 12-15 minutes, until the pasta is tender.
Meanwhile, melt the butter on very low heat, along with the halved garlic cloves.
Cube the Fontina and mix with the grated Grana.
When the pasta is done, drain it. Then layer it with the cheeses, in the hot serving dish. Discard garlic and drizzle the browned butter over the entire dish.
Serve immediately.
Pizzoccheri Tradizionale
Porzioni per 4 persone
320 g di Pizzoccheri
160 g di patate
125 g di burro
125 g di verze, coste o spinaci
160 g di formaggio semigrasso (consigliamo Valtellina Casera)
100 g di parmigiano
2 spicchi di aglio
pepe
Preparazione:
In una pentola con abbondante acqua salata, gia' portata a ebollizione, versate le patate tagliate a dadini e le verdure a piccoli pezzi.
Dopo 5 minuti aggiungere i Pizzoccheri. Fare bollire per 12-15 minuti. Scolare con un mestolo forato e metterne una parte in una teglia.
Cospargere con parmigiano e fettine sottili di formaggio e proseguire alternando i componenti. Versare il burro fuso soffritto insieme all'aglio. Pepare a piacere e servire in piatti caldi.
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Altre ricette in italiano! Store Valtellina ricette
From wiki: Pizzoccheri
Pizzoccheri are a type of short tagliatelle, a flat ribbon pasta, made with 80% buckwheatflour and 20% wheat flour. When classically prepared in Valtellina or in Graubünden, they are cooked along with greens (often Swiss Chard but also Savoy cabbage), and cubedpotatoes. This mixture is layered with pieces of Valtellina Casera cheese and ground Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, and dressed with garlic and sage that are lightly fried in butter together.[1][2]
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