Pizzoccheri della Valtellina

Ingredients

• 400 g buckwheat flour
• 100 g 00 flour
• about 250 ml cold water
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 250 g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
• 250 g savoy cabbage, cut into wide ribbons
• 250 g Valtellina Casera cheese, or young Fontina, thinly sliced
• 120 g Grana Padano, grated
• 150 g unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 6 sage leaves
• black pepper

Before you cook

• Mix the two flours with the salt in a bowl, then work in the water a little at a time until you have a firm dough.
• Knead the dough for 10 minutes, then wrap it and rest it for 30 minutes.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 cm cubes.
• Strip out the thick cabbage ribs and cut the leaves into wide ribbons.
• Slice the Casera thinly and grate the Grana Padano.

Steps

1. Roll the dough out on a floured board into a sheet 2 to 3 mm thick.
2. Cut the sheet into bands 7 cm wide, stack them loosely and slice across into ribbons about 1 cm wide.
3. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
4. Add the potatoes and cabbage and boil them for 5 minutes.
5. Drop in the pizzoccheri and cook for 10 minutes, stirring gently so nothing sticks.
6. Scoop out a ladleful of the cooking water and set it aside.
7. Drain the pizzoccheri, potatoes and cabbage together.
8. Spoon a third of the mixture into a deep warmed dish and cover it with a third of the sliced Casera and a handful of Grana.
9. Repeat the layers twice more, finishing with cheese.
10. Melt the butter in a small pan with the garlic and sage over medium heat.
11. Cook the butter for 3 minutes, until it smells nutty and the garlic turns golden.
12. Pour the hot butter over the top and grind over plenty of black pepper.
13. Fold everything together at the table so the cheese pulls into threads, and serve immediately.