Recipes

Mamma Lucinda’s Pizzoccheri

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on October 24 2016 at 17:20

This recipe, the subject of my Match of the Week, was so delicious I've persuaded Christine Smallwood, whose lovely book An Appetite for Lombardy it comes from, to share it on the site.

The recipe comes from Anna Bertola of Trattoria Altavilla in Bianzone. As Christine says "Anna uses delicious local mountain potatoes and serves very generous portions. You may well only require half of the quantity given here, unless you’ve had a particularly energetic day."

If you don't have the time or inclination to make the pasta from scratch you can buy a dried version from Italian delis such as Lina in Soho.

Serves 6

Pizzoccheri:

600g buckwheat flour

300g white 00 flour

1 tsp salt

400-500ml water, as needed

300g potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

150g Savoy cabbage, cut into wide strips

300g young Valtellina Casera DOP cheese or Fontina, thinly sliced

150g Parmesan, grated

1/2 white onion

150g butter (this may well be authentic but seems an awful lot of butter. Think I'd probably use a third as much! FB)

Salt and pepper, to taste

To make the pizzoccheri, mix the two flours and the salt together. Add the water and knead for about 10 minutes. Roll out to about 3mm thick with a rolling pin. Cut out lengths of about 8cm wide and then cut these widthwise so that you have tagliatelle of about 7mm wide

Cook the potatoes in salted water and after about 5 minutes add the cabbage. When the water returns to the boil, add the pizzoccheri and bring the water back to a gentle boil.

After about 10 minutes drain some of the pizzoccheri, potatoes and cabbage with a perforated spoon, placing them into a baking dish. Place some slices of cheese on top, along with some Parmesan and then continue alternating layers of pizzoccheri and cheese.

Fry the onion in the butter and when browned, scatter over the top of the pizzoccheri. Serve on a pre-heated plate, with freshly ground pepper to taste.

What to drink: A Valtellina red such as the one we tried at Wild Artichokes or a Carterìa Valtellina Superiore Valgella D.O.C.G which is made from Chiavennasca, the local name for Nebbiolo.

This recipe comes from An Appetite for Lombardy by Christine Smallwood which is available to buy off her website for £18.

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