Lorenzo Caglioni

Pizzoccheri made with buckwheat flour is the Valtellina valley's signature pasta dish (Credit: Lorenzo Caglioni)

Pizzoccheri di Teglio (gluten-free) (serves 4)

From Ai Tigli

Ingredients:

500g buckwheat flour

200g butter

250g Valtellina Casera cheese (fontina or Gruyere can be used as a substitute)

150g Parmigiano Reggiano

200g Savoy cabbage, cut into strips

250g potatoes, peeled and diced into 2cm pieces

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

Pepper to taste

Water

Instructions:

Mix the buckwheat flour with water gradually until you have a workable dough, and then knead the dough for about two minutes, adding buckwheat flour to your pastry board as needed.

Roll the dough on a marble or wooden pastry board until it's about 2-3mm thick, and cut it into two 7-8cm rectangular sheets.

Stack those sheets on top of each other and cut them into 5mm-wide strips. (Pizzoccheri can be delicate depending on the amount of starch in your buckwheat flour, and Scínetti recommends cooking the pasta immediately as the strips may break if left in the refrigerator for too long.)

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water with the potatoes to a boil, and after about 5 minutes, add the cabbage. Continue to boil for an additional five minutes, or until the cabbage and potatoes are soft, then add the pasta, cooking for an additional 10 minutes.

Melt the butter in a shallow saucepan and then add the sliced garlic, simmering over medium heat until brown specks appear.

With a slotted spoon, remove half of the pasta and vegetable mixture from the pan, transfer it to a casserole dish, or shallow pot, and cover it with the grated cheese. Add the remaining vegetable and pasta mixture to the dish and cover it with cheese.

Scrape the saucepan to capture the brown milk solids at the bottom of the pan and pour the browned garlic-infused butter over the pasta dish. Serve with freshly ground pepper.

Pizzoccheri: Italy's debated buckwheat pasta recipe