Pizzoccheri

Pizzoccheri alla valtellinese are one of the delicacies to taste at least once in a lifetime, to try in particular in the small town of Teglio (in the province of Sondrio). They are a dish whose goodness comes not only from the processing of the ingredients, but also from the choice of the same: stone-ground buckwheat flour, cabbage from the garden, butter are some of the must-haves to faithfully reproduce them at home and leave your guests amazed. In the footsteps of tradition you can make this delicious dish, to be prepared in summer and winter, starting from the very processing of pizzoccheri, a pasta shape similar to tagliatelle but shorter, made with buckwheat flour, type 0 flour and water. To discover all the authentic taste of this dish, follow the steps and tips to cook and share a fabulous hot and stringy pizzoccheri dish!

INGREDIENTS

For the pizzoccheri

Buckwheat flour (stone-ground) 400 g

Flour 0 (stone-ground) 100 g

Water (at a temperature of 50°) 285 g

To season

Butter 80 g

Dairy cheese (semi-fat) at room temperature 180 g

Grana Padano 40 g

Potatoes 240 g

Garlic 2 Cloves

Savoy cabbage 200 g

to salt the cooking water

Whole sea salt (coarse) 60 g

Preparation

To prepare the pizzoccheri, start by pouring the 0 flour and buckwheat flour into a bowl in the doses indicated, mix the two flours well and add the water at a temperature of 50 °. This will make the buckwheat starches blend more easily. Start working the ingredients by hand in the bowl, transfer everything to a lightly floured pastry board with buckwheat flour and knead the dough vigorously. This work phase is crucial: the dough must be handled with care to obtain a consistency that is as elastic as possible. Form a ball; the consistency should be silky, not too soft. Flatten the ball of dough sprinkle with a little buckwheat flour and start rolling out the dough with a rolling pin; you will have to obtain a disc of about 2-3 mm thick. Now, trim the edges To even out the disc obtained, in order to obtain a rectangle, lightly sprinkle the surface with more buckwheat flour and cut with a sharp-bladed knife into strips about 7 cm wide. Overlap 3 strips on top of each other if necessary, sprinkling with a little buckwheat flour; With this method it will be faster to obtain the pizzoccheri precisely, cutting the overlapping strips into strips about 0.5-1 cm thick. Set aside the first pizzoccheri obtained, then continue in the same way for the rest of the dough. Previously discarded scraps can be used to make delicious potato soup! You can start dedicating yourself to the seasoning. Put a pan with 6 liters of water on the stove; In the meantime, clean the cabbage, peeling it (with the outer leaves you can make a soup), cut it in half, then into slices, remove the leathery part and cut the cabbage into slices. Then move on to the potatoes: peel them and cut them into thick slices, then into rather large pieces; it will be enough to try to make pieces of uniform size so that the cooking is homogeneous. When the water boils, salt with 60 g of salt (10 g per liter). Boil the potatoes on their own for about 2 minutes. Thinly slice the cheese (it is preferable to use it at room temperature). After two minutes of cooking the potatoes, add the cabbage; It is very important that the vegetables cook in the water in which the pizzoccheri will cook because it is part of a balance of substances that will then end up on the plate, both nutritional and digestive. After about 4 minutes you can pour half a dose of pizzoccheri slowly distributing them in the pan, With the help of the handle of a wooden ladle, gently turn them, to prevent them from sticking, then add the remaining ones slowly and slowly. Stir for a few more moments, then while the pizzoccheri are cooking (they will have to cook about 4 minutes). Cut the garlic cloves in half then pour the butter into a pan and melt it together with the garlic cloves;  the butter should melt and flavor with the garlic and you will have to let it go over medium-low heat until you get a hazelnut color. Meanwhile, prepare a large and low pan where you will then drain and season the pizzoccheri once ready. You will have to heat this empty pan by placing it in balance on the pot of the pizzoccheri cooking water; this will allow the cheese to melt in a homogeneous and controlled way. Then lower the heat under the pot of pizzoccheri without turning it off. With the help of a slotted spoon, start draining the pizzoccheri very well so as not to transfer water into the pan you have heated and create a first layer on the bottom of the pan. Without ever stirring in these phases, now distribute a layer of cheese, continue with another layer of pizzoccheri; repeat the cheese step again and continue until you finish with the last layer of pizzoccheri and cheese. Season with grated Grana Padano. And at this point proceed as in the manner of Valtellina grandmothers: place the pan with the pizzoccheri on top of the one with the cooking water still hot, just to preserve the heat. Cover with a cloth: in this way the heat of the pizzoccheri, cabbage and potatoes will help the cheese to melt. In the meantime, raise the heat under the pan in which you melted the butter with the garlic, in order to obtain the hazelnut color as anticipated. This will add aromas to the dish, without affecting digestibility. Then pour the hot butter over the pizzoccheri, you will notice that the cheese has already melted. Remove the garlic cloves and only now mix the pizzoccheri gently and without exaggerating; Serve and enjoy the pizzoccheri hot and stringy!

Preservation

You can store the pizzoccheri dough in the fridge for 12-24 hours at most, wrapped in cling film. Freezing is not recommended. It is recommended to consume cooked pizzoccheri hot and storage is not recommended.

Advice

When you work the pizzoccheri on the pastry board you will have to handle for at least 15-20 minutes to encourage fermentation with the heat of your hands.