Buckwheat pasta – Pizzoccheri alla valtellinese

For the pizzocheri pasta:

In a large bowl, mix the two flours. Add the water and incorporate the ingredients with a fork. You will see that the dough will be quite “sandy” (see picture below). Keep kneading with your hands and then transfer to a working surface lightly floured.

Keep kneading for about 8-10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Cut a piece of dough and wrap the remaining part with a plastic film or place it in an airtight container to prevent it from drying. With a rolling pin, roll out the piece of dough to a thickness of 2/3 mm (1/16 -1/8 inch). Try to make a rectangular shape to waste as little dough as possible. 

Cut the dough in a rectangle and divide it into strips of about 6-7 cm (2.3-2.7 inch). 

Dust the top of the strips with some flour and overlap 2-3 strips. Cut them perpendicularly to obtain a tagliatelle-like shape of about 0.5-1 cm (0.19-0.39 inch) wide.

Repeat and finish all the dough. Place the pizzoccheri pasta on a tray, sprinkling with some flour to prevent them from sticking.

For garnishing:

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Bring a large pot of water (about 3 liters/12 cups) to a boil.

Sautee the garlic (peeled, divided in 2, and with the internal stem removed) and sage leaves in the butter and oil on low heat for about 5 minutes.

Cut the cheese into small cubes and grate the Parmesan cheese.

Remove the external leaves of the cabbage (you can use them later in a soup!), remove the tough stalk from each leaf, and cut them into small pieces.

Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. 

When the water boils, add the coarse salt and let it dissolve in the water.

Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.

While waiting, place an empty casserole in the preheated oven (this will help to melt the cheese when you add it to it).

Add the chopped cabbage to the same pot in which you’re boiling the potatoes and cook for additional 4 minutes.

Add the pizzoccheri pasta into that same pot a little at a time, gently stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for an extra 5-6 minutes.

Remove the heated casserole from the oven, and transfer the potatoes, cabbage, and pizzoccheri pasta into it with a skimmer. Add some of the cheese and keep adding the potatoes, cabbage, and pizzoccheri pasta. 

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and pour the oil and butter in the casserole (discard the garlic and sage). Gently mix to incorporate the cheese and the rest of the ingredients.

Place the casserole in the oven for 2-3 minutes and finish with 1-2 minutes of broiling.

Remove the dish from the oven and serve immediately.