Pizzoccheri della Valtellina

The Pasta

400g Buckwheat flour (choose light buckwheat over dark but both work)

100g 00 or AP flour

270g Water

Pinch of salt

• Mix ingredients together and knead until the water is completely incorporated into the flour. The dough will be relatively smooth.

• Wrap with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for an hour.

• Cut off a portion of dough and carefully flatten it with a rolling pin. Buckwheat doughs tend to crack and rip towards the edges. Handle as little as possible.

• Dust with flour and roll through the thickest setting on your pasta roller.

• If needed you can fold the sheet in half and roll it through again.

• Run the pasta through on thinner settings each time until the pasta is about 2-3mm thick.

• Cut the sheet into 1cm strips and then cut those strips into 7-8cm lengths. Use a bench scraper or knife to pick up the strands and put them on a floured sheet of parchment on a tray to rest. Lay them flat and single layer only. Place another sheet of parchment on top if you need more space.

• Repeat this process for the rest of the dough.

• Once the pasta is all cut, place your tray of pizzoccheri into the fridge until needed. Either freeze these or cook them the same day.

The Sauce

150g Butter

3 cloves Garlic (sliced)

3 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes (or any variety you prefer)

1/4 head of Savoy cabbage

250g Valtellina Casera and/or Bitto (if you can’t find these cheeses, use taleggio), grated

100g Parmigiano or Grana Padano, grated

Salt

• Fill a large pot of water about 3/4 full and heat to a boil for the pasta and other ingredients. Don’t salt it quite yet.

• Preheat your oven to 400°F

• Cut the savoy cabbage into strips a similar size to the pasta, set aside.

• Wash the potatoes and leave the skin on. Cut them into quarters lengthwise and then slice them about 0.5cm in width. Set aside covered in water.

• In a large oven safe pan, melt the butter and slowly fry the garlic in it. Once the garlic just begins to colour, add a 4oz ladle of your pasta water to stop the cooking and turn off the heat.

• Typically, the cabbage, potatoes and pasta are all cooked together. If this is your first time making this dish, I would cook each separately, starting with the cabbage or potatoes. Salt your pasta water generously and cook the cabbage until well cooked. You want to cook the cabbage until it almost falls apart, about 10 minutes (NO AL DENTE VEGGIES HERE). Remove the cabbage with a spider (hand held strainer) from the water (keep it boiling) and place it directly into the pan with the butter and garlic. Now cook the potatoes in the same water. Again, cook them until they’re just about to fall apart (about 8-10 mins). Remove the potatoes and put them into the pan as well. Finally, cook the pizzoccheri in the water until just cooked through. They should not be gummy in the mouth, about 3-4 mins.

• Everything (cabbage, potatoes, pasta) is now in the pan and the heat should be off. Add the Casera and Parmigiano (reserve a small amount to put on top) and mix vigorously until the cheese makes a creamy sauce. Add some of your pasta water if it seems dry.

• Add the remaining cheese on top and place the pan into the oven for 7-8 minutes.

• Remove the pan from the oven and serve immediately.