Saturday March 1, Italiarama cooking class at the Italian Cultural Institute (Pizzoccheri Tradizionale)

If I can't be in Italy, the next very best place to be, is in a class at the Italian Cultural Institute (Istituto Italiano di Cultura) in Westwood Village, close to UCLA.

Saturday mornings are the highlight of my week. The advanced conversation class Italiarama, was created by Michele Scotto, our instructor. 

For almost 10 years, I've attended and thoroughly enjoyed many grammar classes at the Istituto, but my favorite is always Italiarama. It's Italian language, culture, conversation, opera, idioms, reading and film, all rolled into one course.  It's an Italian experience, guided by Roman born Michele. We adore him and his enthusiasm for life. 

Once or twice in our ten week class, we have a cooking session. Several years ago, Michele taught this as a cooking lesson. He has shown us how to make his mother's gnocchi, tiramisu, torta and various pasta dishes. 

The lesson format was changed and now we divide the class into two cooking teams. At first there was rivalry and competition. Now, it's more like visiting in a friend's kitchen. We prepare a meal together and then share it at our communal table. We transport ourselves to an Italian place. Our love for the language draws former strangers into a two hour bubble of happiness. 

Normally I find social situations a bit stressful. Instead these Saturday morning sessions are relaxing and stress free. 

We only speak Italian and it's such a joy. 

Today, we had a cooking class. Our two teams prepared: an antipasto and a pasta dish called Pizzocchieri. Michele brought Italian music.

Class pictures:

Sondrio, the most important comune in the Valtellina valley, located within the region of Lombardia, where one finds this regional recipe.

A few dance moves!

Michele keeping it authentic!

Team picture

Checking the World Atlas

A visit by instructor, Antonella

Music dedicated to me! Grazie Michele!! -- Non è Francesca

Non e' Francesca

Discarding the garlic is normal with Northern Italian cooking. 

The terrina was heated in the oven, but the prepared pasta itself was not baked. 

Buon appetito!

 

Team picture

Dessert! Panettone

Traditional Pizzoccheri

Serves 4-6

320 g Pizzoccheri pasta

160 g potatoes, cut into cubes

125 g butter (half butter is ok)

125 g Savoy cabbage, sliced

160 g semi-soft cheese, such as Fontina or Fontina-Truffle

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, brown 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

Sale, 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.

Pizzoccheri Tradizionale, real comfort food

It's Friday night with extra time to make a special dinner. I bought a beautiful fresh head of Savoy Cabbage last night to make Pizzoccheri Primavera, page 162 of È Pronto!

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.

~~.~~

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]