Description
Pizzocherri alla Valtellinese is a hearty Italian dish consisting of buckwheat pasta, cabbage, potatoes and plenty of cheese and butter.
Ingredients
1lb store bought, dry pizzocherri pasta or homemade pasta below
Buckwheat pasta:
- 2 cups + 3 tbsp (300g) buckwheat flour
- 1 cup + 2 ½ tbsp (150g) ‘00’ flour*
- 1 to 1 ¼ cups warm water
1 lb (450g) savoy cabbage, cut in 1 inch strips*
12 oz (340g) Yukon gold potato, cut into 1 inch chunks*
1 stick (113g) butter, cut into slices
6 sage leaves (optional)
3 cloves garlic
4 oz (115g) fontina cheese, cut in ½ inch cubes
1 oz (⅓ cup/28g) finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Make the pasta dough. Whisk together buckwheat flour and 00 flour in a large bowl. Heat 1 ¼ cups of water to 125F. Make a well in the center of the bowl and gradually stir in 1 cup of the water. Add an additional 1 tablespoon of water as needed until flour is hydrated just enough to form a dough.
- Knead dough. Roll dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll and cut pasta. Cut off ¼ of the dough, keeping the remaining dough covered. Roll into a ⅛ inch thick rectangle, about 6 ½ - 7 inches long in one direction. Trim of any excess dough to create straight edges. Cut into 2, 3 inch wide pieces of dough. Slice ½ inch strips to create pizzocherri shape. Place cut pasta on a parchment lined sheet tray. Repeat with remaining dough. Make layers with parchment, as needed, to prevent pasta from sticking. Cover until ready to use.
- Cook vegetables. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt. If you’re using a thicker ribbed cabbage (e.g. green cabbage or a thicker savoy), put the cabbage in the boiling water first and cook for 5 minutes before adding the potatoes. If you’re using a thinner leafed cabbage (e.g. napa or a delicate savoy), add the potatoes to the water first and boil for 3 minutes before stirring in the cabbage. Continue to boil the vegetables for about 5 more minutes, until softened and partially cooked through.
- Cook pasta. Add fresh buckwheat pasta to the pot of boiling vegetables. Stir to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick together. Cook for about 10-12 minutes, until pasta and vegetables are tender. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon and transfer to a large pan, reserving the water in the pot. If you opt to used dried pizzocherri, consider cooking in a separate pot of salted water to better control the cooking time.
- Make brown butter. While the vegetables and pasta cook, melt butter in a small pot. Once butter is melted, add sage and garlic. Cook over medium-heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is browned and infused with the aromatics, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard garlic cloves.
- Finish the pasta. Dot fontina cheese over the pizzocherri vegetable mixture. Pour over the brown sage butter. Sprinkle with parmigiano. Place the pan over the pot of water used to cook the pasta, and use it like double boiler. Bring the water to a simmer, to create steam and melt the cheese. Gently stir to combine. Add a few spoons of pasta water to thin out the sauce, if needed. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
1lb of cabbage is roughly equivalent to half of a savoy or green cabbage, or 9 cups chopped.
I have tested this recipe using savoy cabbage, green cabbage and nappa cabbage. All strains of savoy cabbage have distinctive, crinkly leaves, however, some strains have more delicate, deep green leaves, while others have thicker, pale yellow leaves. The type of savoy cabbage I used, was closer in texture to a standard green cabbage and takes longer to cook than a nappa cabbage or more delicate savoy cabbage.
I like Yukon gold potatoes for their flavor and creamy texture, however, you can use any white, yellow or russet potatoes of your liking.
Unsalted or salted butter would both be suitable for this recipe. You can adjust the seasoning accordingly.
I use fontina cheese for this recipe because it’s easily accessible to me, but more traditional cheeses to use include Valtellina Casera, Montasio or Bitto.
You can substitute parmigiano reggiano for domestic parmesan or pecorino romano cheese.
If you're not comfortable with the double boiler method, you may also transfer the cooked pasta and vegetables to a casserole dish, top with browned butter and cheeses and bake until the cheese is melted.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Inactive Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Boil, Steam
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of pasta
- Calories: 550
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 650mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 69g
- Fiber: 9g
- Protein: 18g
- Cholesterol: 66mg
