Pizzoccheri (Buckwheat Pasta with Savoy Cabbage, Potato and Fontina)
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and America's Test Kitchen.
Buckwheat ribbon pasta cooked with potato and cabbage, layered with fontina and Parmesan, and finished with a nutty garlic-sage butter.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Make the dough. Mix the buckwheat and plain flours in a large bowl, add the water, and stir to combine. Knead for 5 minutes into a soft, slightly tacky dough, similar in feel to modelling clay - buckwheat has no gluten of its own, so it never turns elastic, and it's the plain flour that holds everything together.
- 2
Rest the dough. Cover the dough and rest it for 15 minutes before rolling.
- 3
Roll and cut. Roll the dough out on a dusted worktop to 2-3 mm thick, then cut it into 7 cm wide strips and across into 1 cm ribbons. Spread the ribbons out on a flour-dusted tray as you go.
- 4
Warm the oven and dish. Heat the oven to 120°C (100°C fan) and put the serving dish inside to warm through - a warm dish keeps the cheese melting as you layer, rather than seizing against a cold surface.
- 5
Cook potatoes, cabbage and pasta. Bring 5 litres of water to the boil with the 40 g salt. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then add the cabbage and pasta together and cook for a further 6-8 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the pasta is cooked but still firm.
- 6
Layer with cheese. Using a spider strainer, lift a third of the pasta and vegetables straight into the warmed dish and scatter over a third of the fontina and Parmesan. Repeat twice more, finishing with cheese on top - the heat left in the pasta and vegetables is what melts each layer of cheese as you go.
- 7
Make the garlic-sage butter. Melt the butter with the garlic and sage in a small frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until the garlic turns golden and the butter smells nutty rather than just melted.
- 8
Finish and serve. Pour the hot butter over the layered dish, then toss everything together once at the table so the cheese, butter and pasta combine. Season with the pepper and serve immediately, while it's all still molten.
Storage
Best eaten straight away while the cheese is molten, but leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat gently in a covered pan or microwave until piping hot throughout, adding a splash of water if it looks dry. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- large bowl
- long rolling pin
- sharp knife
- baking tray dusted with buckwheat flour
- large pot (at least 6 litres)
- ovenproof serving dish about 23 x 33 cm
- spider strainer or slotted spoon
- small frying pan
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 781 kcal |
| Protein | 30.7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 93.5 g |
| of which sugars | 5.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 34.6 g |
| of which saturates | 20.6 g |
| Fibre | 12.6 g |
| Salt | 1.96 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.9 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
