Mestolando, where home cooked italian food happens.

northern Italian pasta favorite

This dish from the Valtellina area of northern Italy is a local legend, but was once considered a ‘piatto povero’ or poor-man’s dish because of it’s basic ingredients. A heavy dish like this would probably be enough calories and fats to work in harsh winter conditions day after day.

Ingredients for 4

• Pizzoccheri pasta 320 grams or 11 ounces
• Savoy cabbage 125 grams or 4 1/2 oucnces
• 1 meduim to large potato
• Fontina, Bitto cheese 160 grams or 5 1/2 ounces (or sharp cheddar)
• Parmesan cheese 100 grams or 3 1/2 oucnes
• Butter 125 grams or 4 1/2 oucnces
• 3-4 fresh sage leaves
• 1 clove of garlic

(if you can’t find the pizzocheri buckwheat pasta in your area we’ve added brief instructions how to make your own below, or a blog post with some tips on where to find it)

how to prepare, taken from the video

Start by making the sage and garlic flavored butter, by adding in a few leaves of fresh sage and one clove of garlic. Then put the butter on a low heat to simmer.

Next thinly slice a raw potato that i’ve peeled, washed and dried first. You can also cut it into small cubes.

Following the potato slice the fresh savoy cabbage up into medium length strips.

Now it’s time to boil the potato and savoy cabbage for 5 minutes or until the cabbage softens a little… also add in a little salt at this stage, and briefly stir the contents around.

Once the cabbage and potatoes are starting to get soft it’s time to add in the buckwheat pizzoccheri pasta and let it cook until the pasta is soft which takes about 12 to 15 minutes.

Don’t forget to check and turn off the butter so it doesn’t burn the sage.

While the pizzoccheri are cooking prepare the Fontina cheese by slicing it into thin slabs. The traditional recipe calls for the cheese Bitto to be used… but even here in Italy Bitto is not always easily found.

Now that the pizzoccheri are soft or ‘al dente’, which roughly translates to almost soft, start to layer the ingredients together…

First what was boiling in the pot, the pizzocheri pasta, savoy cabbage and potatoes. Remember to strain all the water out of the ingredients before putting them in the serving bowl. This is very important, use a pasta strainer if you don’t have a good straining spoon.

For the second layer sprinkle some Fontina, and a little parmesan over the pizzoccheri.

Repeat these two layers over and over until the main ingredients are finished, maybe 4 to 5 times depending on the size of the serving dish. The cheese in the lower layers will melt and mix well with the pizzoccheri pasta, cabbage and potatoes.

This recipe was once considered a ‘piatto povera’ or ‘poor-mans-fair’ because of it’s basic ingredients.

After the layering is done pour the melted butter over the top.

Lastly add some ground black pepper, serve this recipe hot right after it’s made.

How to make basic Pizzoccheri ribbon pasta:

Serves 4

• 2 cups buckwheat flour
• 1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
• a pinch salt

1. Make pasta in regular way using well method.

2. Roll into sheets on thinnest setting and then cut sheets into horizontal stripes about 1/2 inch thick. Cut across the stripes in 3 inch intervals to yield 3 inch long and 1/2 inch tall strips.

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