The poor “peasant” tradition of Valtellina can be found in a typical dish known and appreciated throughout Italy. Pizzoccheri della Valtellina IGP is a pasta dish made with buckwheat flour and since the 18th century. To this day, the original recipe of the authentically Italian pizzocheri is guarded jealously by the Accademia del Pizzochero di Teglio.
Traditional pizzocheri recipe
Serves 4
Ingredients:
14 oz. buckwheat flour
4 oz. white flour
7 oz. butter
9 oz. Valtellina Casera DOP cheese
5 oz. grated cheese (we suggest Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano)
7 oz. cabbage
9 oz. potatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
Pepper to taste
Method:
Mix the two types of flour together, kneading them with water and working the dough for about 5 minutes. Using a rolling pin, roll out a sheet of pasta until you reach a thickness of 2-3 millimeters.
Cut strips with lengths of about 7 - 8 cm. Lay the strips over one another and cut them in the direction of the width to obtain noodles about 5 millimeters wide.
With cabbage cut in small pieces and potatoes cut into quarters, cook vegetables in salted water.
Add pizzoccheri after 5 minutes (potatoes are always present in this dish while cabbage can be replaced with collard greens or green beans, depending on the season).
While the pasta is cooking, fry garlic in butter and let brown well. After about ten minutes, strain pizzoccheri and pour (one portion at a time) into pan with garlic, sprinkling with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and flakes of Valtellina Casera DOP.
Stir pizzoccheri and cheese mixture as you alternate adding pasta then cheese and so on. Sprinkle with butter and, without stirring, serve the pizzoccheri boiling with a little pepper.