Buckwheat Pasta with Cabbage and Cheese

This wonderful pasta, called Pizzoccheri, comes from Cucina Povera, a favorite cookbook of mine gifted by a girlfriend. Ive already made a summery Tuna and Bean Salad from the book, authored by Giulia Scarpaleggio and published in 2023. This pasta dish was perfect on a cold winter day.

From the book: “Buckwheat has been grown in Valtellina, an Alpine valley in northern Lombardi on the border between Italy and Switzerland, for at least four centuries.”

The recipe requires home-made buckwheat pasta, creamy cabbage and potatoes, Fontina and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and sage. It’s absolutely delicious and hearty. I could certainly see bacon/pancetta, ham or Italian sausage included. Even meatballs.

Buckwheat Pasta with Cabbage and Cheese

For the pizzoccheri:
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour
7 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water (I included 1 more tablespoon water)
Fine sea salt

For assembly:
1/2 Savoy cabbage, about 1 pound, cored, cut crosswise into thin strips
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, about 8 ounces, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, crushed and peeled
A generous handful of fresh sage leaves
5 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
8 ounces Fontina, diced
Freshly ground black pepper

Pour both the flours onto a work surface and shape into a mound with a large well in the center. Add the water and a pinch of salt and, using a fork, stir slowly to incorporate the water, starting from the center and gradually picking up more flour from the edges. When the dough turns crumbly, switch to kneading with your hands. When the dough is clay-like and moist but not sticking to your hands, it is ready to be rolled out. (I added some extra water – it’s easier to dry out your dough during kneading then start out dry and crumbly and require moisture.)

Lightly flour a work surface with all-purpose flour and, with a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an 1/8-inch thick sheet. Cut the pasta into 3-inch wide strips. Dust the strips with flour, stack them a few at a time, and cut crosswise in 1/3-by-3-inch noodles.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously. Add the cabbage and potatoes, press down with a wooden spoon to submerge them, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Add the noodles and cook until al dente, about 10 more minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water.

While the pasta cooks, in a medium frying pan, melt the butter with the garlic over medium-low heat. When the butter stops foaming, add the sage and fry until the leaves are crisp and the butter is lightly browned. With a slotted spoon, transfer the fried sage to a pater towel-lined plate. Remove and discard the garlic and set the pan of butter aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange half of the pasta, cabbage and potato mixture into an 8.5-by-11-inch baking dish. Drizzle with half of the brown butter and top with half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, half of the Fontina, and half of the sage leaves. Season with pepper. Arrange the remaining pizzoccheri mixture on top, drizzle with the remaining brown butter, and finish with the remaining cheeses and sage.

Transfer to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.

Stir gently and serve immediately. (I didn’t stir, I just scooped.)

If I had to do this all over, I’d cook all of the elements separately. I could only find Napa Cabbage, and it practically dissolved in the time it took to cook the potatoes. Plus I would also buy a regular white cabbage and not slice as thinly. It would be more prep work but worth it.

The dough was also problematic. I think more regular flour or semolina would have helped. I had to make the strips thicker because I didn’t think the dough would hold. Maybe at least an egg yolk would help.