You say Pizza and you say Naples, you say risotto and you say Milan, you say Arancini and you say Palermo, you say Tortellini and you say Emilia Romagna. Italy is a mine of gastronomic traditions of territorial flavours. But some dishes in particular take on a more than territorial value, they become a flag of identity of a long history that unfolds over time linked to the cultural roots of an area and above all to a defense to the bitter end of the traditions of its inhabitants.
I Buckwheat pizzoccheri are perhaps the most eloquent testimony of the roots of customs of the inhabitants of Valtellina and their strenuous defense. Their first testimony is closely linked to the cultivation of buckwheat, called Formentone, in the geographical area that extends for about 150 kilometers parallel to the Lombard Alpine ridge which separates the Central-Eastern Alps (Western Rhaetian Alps) from the South-Eastern Alps. eastern regions (Bergamo Alps and Pre-Alps and Orobie Alps) in the province of Sondrio. It is located in this area sure trace of the cultivation of buckwheat in a text of 1616, in which the governor of the Adda Valley (belonging to the canton of Grisons in Switzerland) wrote that «The Saracen was grown above all on the Rhaetian side of the Alps, in particular in the Teglio area, as it was characterized by a milder climate thanks to more exposure to the sun.
The cultivation of buckwheat kept alive to safeguard the memory of the Pizzoccheri
And this cultivation continued until the XNUMXth century, also spreading to disadvantaged and unproductive areas of the region, since the species matures quickly and adapts well to alpine terrain. Following the annexation of Valtellina to the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, and with the opening up of the region to trade, however, the production of buckwheat flour went into decline, in favor of other flours more in demand on the market and much more productive. Until it almost completely disappears. Not, however, in the province of Sondrio, where the cultivation of buckwheat has continued from then until today in limited areas for a narrow nostalgic family use or for direct sale to local consumers. The reason was, and is, to keep alive a gastronomic tradition of the ancient fathers, the production of pizzoccheri.
The custom of preparing pizzoccheri is certainly contemporary with the introduction of buckwheat in Valtellina and in the province of Sondrio. The quotes can be found in some old wills from the XNUMXth century, where kitchen tools were left to the heirs, including «a scarella for Pizzoccheri and a rodelino for ravioli» (1750) or «le resene for Pizzoccheri» (1775).
In 2016 the recognition of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) by the European Union arrives
But at this point a distinction must be made. Pizzoccheri della Valtellina prepared with buckwheat flour mixed with other flours. similar to tagliatelle, but grayish in color, which in 2016 obtained the recognition of protected geographical indication (PGI) from the European Union, should not be confused with the pizzoccheri di Chiavenna, which are instead a particular variety of gnocchi, prepared with wheat flour and dry bread soaked in milk.
Documents show that the pizzoccheri of Valtellina were linked to events, traditions and food and wine of their place of origin, so much so that their traditional dressing is prepared with local and typical ingredients (butter, cheese, vegetables such as cabbage and potatoes. During over the years they have become the protagonists of popular events and festivals, the most famous being that of the “Pizzocchero d'oro” which is celebrated in Teglio, the town where they were born.
The etymology of the word is currently uncertain. The name “pizzoccheri” seems to derive from the root “pit” or “piz” with the meaning of piece or even from the word pinch with the meaning of crushing, referring to the flattened shape of the pasta. Other hypotheses would trace the term back to the word "pinzochera" already used in the 300th century by Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccaccio, to indicate poverty and simplicity, which are the characteristics of this typical Valtellina dish.
The Pizzocchero Academy of Teglio, the defense of an original tradition and identity
To preserve and protect the pizzoccheri recipe, and their importance in the history and culture of Valtellina in Teglio was born the Accademia del Pizzocchero which keeps alive the memory but also the present and the future of this dish with a strong identity of the local peasant culture. From the Academy website we learn that the origin of the pizzoccheri dish is not testified by a precise date or event, but by a series of culinary references reported by HL Lehmann, in the second part of his work Die Republik Graubündeni, concerning the area of Grisons of which Valtellina was part at that time.
The author mentions "Perzockel" as a sort of tagliatelle made with buckwheat and two eggs. The pasta was cooked in water, then butter was added and the grated cheese was immediately spread. In peasant houses and in the maggenghi – reads a historical note from the Academy – it was more usual to produce gnocchi with the same ingredients instead of tagliatelle, since there was often no table available on which to make the pasta. For this reason, the dough for the gnocchi was a way to overcome this difficulty.
However, it is from the early nineteenth century that the dish closest to the one currently known appears on the tables of the wealthiest population. The dough is rolled out and then coarse buckwheat tagliatelle are obtained with variable parts of white flour according to the customs of the various countries, cooked in abundant salted water, in which potatoes, cabbage or ribs or chopped green beans are placed. The pizzoccheri were then drained with a ladle with holes (cazafuràda) and placed in a connecting rod with layers of two types of flaked cheese: a leaner one called "féta" and a more seasoned semi-fat one. Everything was seasoned with a dash of very dark lard accompanied by garlic. In some areas onion and sage were and are still used instead of garlic.
In Valtellina, it is customary to sprinkle hot and steaming pizzoccheri with a generous dose of Pesteda aromatic condiment typical of the Valtellina gastronomic tradition based on garlic, salt, pepper, dwarf yarrow leaves (girupina or gerupìna) and wild thyme (peverel) prepared according to the ancient tradition that is handed down, and secretly kept, from generation to generation. A challenging dish undoubtedly due to the butter-pasta ratio which is one to two, butter which is then fried with garlic, and due to the important fat contribution of the other cheeses, but a dish which in its rusticity is authentic testimony and not artificial feeding of a poor world that needed substance.
As always happens when an original dish rises to national notoriety well beyond its borders of origin and is appreciated for its flavor and goodness, we also witness a flowering of the most disparate recipes. There is the version with mushrooms (porcini, champignon, chanterelle, pioppini), with mushrooms and cream, with zucchini and speck, with green beans and sage, with potatoes and cheese, with tomato sauce and ricotta, with artichokes and crunchy bacon, even, in a version that unifies the boot, with the Sicilian-style condiment based on almonds and garlic. What can I say, joys and pains of notoriety.
But since you don't mess around with history and culture, we offer readers the world of food the only recipe that respects the meaning of their gastronomy identity, and is the official one of the Academy of pizzoccheri of Teglio. In the country a group of restaurants associated with the Academy of Pizzocchero gthey guarantee pizzoccheri prepared and cooked in full compliance with the recipe certified original, with top quality Valtellina products: from flour to butter to cheese. In the photo, the Pizzoccheri dish from the Galeda di Teglio restaurant associated with the Academy.
The original recipe for Pizzoccheri from the Accademia di Teglio
Ingredients for people 4
400 g of buckwheat flour
100 g of white flour
200 g of butter
250 g of Valtellina Casera DOP cheese
150 g of grated cheese, such as Grana or Parmesan
200 g of cabbage
250 g potatoes
1 clove of garlic
pepper
Method
Mix the two flours, mix them with water and work for about 5 minutes. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a thickness of 2-3 millimeters from which bands of 7-8 centimeters are obtained. Overlap the bands and cut them in the sense of the width, obtaining noodles about 5 millimeters wide.
Preparation of the dish
Cook the vegetables in salted water, the cabbage into small pieces and the potatoes into chunks, add the pizzoccheri after 5 minutes (the potatoes are always present, while the cabbage can be replaced, depending on the season, with ribs or green beans).
While the pasta is cooking, fry the butter with the garlic until it browns well.
After about ten minutes, collect the pizzoccheri with a slotted spoon and pour part of it into a hot pan, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and Valtellina Casera DOP flakes, continue by alternating pizzoccheri and cheese. Sprinkle with butter and, without stirring, serve the piping hot pizzoccheri with a sprinkling of pepper.
NB By replacing the portion of white flour with gluten-free flour, or using only buckwheat flour, you can obtain a recipe suitable for coeliacs too. The absence of gluten requires a little more vigorous processing in order to obtain a dough with a homogeneous consistency.
