We are in Valtellina , a small Area of Lombardia Region, a thin lane of land above Lake Como and Switzerland, a beautiful land, full of Alps mountains, lakes , trekking walk, fields of grapes for wine, but also homeland of some of the most loved handmade products of Italy.
The most famous one are sure “PIZZOCCHERI”, they look like a strange kind of tagliatella but shorter !!!
The official dimensions of the pizzoccheri are: 1 cm wide, 7 cm in length and 2 or 3 mm in thickness and are originally from the municipality of Teglio, in the province of Sondrio in the heart of Valtellina.
Their peculiarity to be prepared with a blend of buckwheat flour (fagopyrum esculentum) , about two-thirds of the total of the dough, which gives them the particular brown - greyish color.
The pizzoccheri are a plate of ultra ancient origins and the buckwheat was a cereal used in the Valtellina since the 14th century, but the first reference written on pizzoccheri, also called piNzoNcheri, is only in 1548 in the work of Ortensio Landi titled "Inventory Catalog of Things To Eat".
In general, all Valtellina and in particular the Teglio area have always been dedicated to the cultivation of grain buckwheat which has obtained the "slow food mark" and is used to prepare many other local dishes in addition to pizzoccheri (of which we will talk about in other posts of foodosaur).
But how possible that a flour that grew in South Siberia and Manciuria arrived until Europe ? There are several theories, but the most accredited is that, in the Middle Ages around 1,100 BC, Turkish merchants had come in contact with the Chinese.
The Turks themselves then began trading with the Europeans, in fact the flour was first mentioned in Germany and Eastern Europe, then went down to Switzerland and eventually came to Valtellina.
The name SARACENO is in all likelihood due to two reasons:
1- or because of the dark color recalling the skin color of the Saracens Turks that sprang up the Mediterranean in those
years
2 - or why it was sold directly by the boats of these (when they were not in war with the Christian world).
But how to cook Pizzoccheri?
The pizzoccheri are cooked in salted boiling water like any other pasta (also if longer), then seasoned with potatoes, cabbage, butter, garlic, salvia and typical Valtellina cheese (a lot of Cheese!!!) the Casera (recognized DOP since 1996). (NOT WITH THE PARMESAN!!! MY GOD !!! THE WORLD MUST UNDERSTAND THAT TO COOK AN ITALIAN DISH IS NOT ENOUGH ONLY COVER EVERYTHING IN PARMESAN!!! )
Sometimes, in the spring and summer months, the cabbage is replaced by green beans.
In the mouth the pizzoccheri are somewhat wrinkled, due to the presence of buckwheat and tend to be sweet, but less than traditional pasta. They are matched with the red wines typical of Valtellina such as Sassella, Grumello, Inferno or the thickest Sfurzat, all based on nebbiolo grapes.
Outside the Valtellina it is difficult to find handmade pizzoccheri, and I assure you that are something indescribable.
Every year the “PIZZOCCHERO`s CHAMPIONSHIP” is celebrated, and a group of experts evaluates the best of the Valley by giving recognition.
In the summer, Bormio is celebrated with the BIG PIZZOCCHERATA, with a one-kilometer long table.
Very often to eat a well cooked plate , you don’t need to search a cool restaurant, but you can easily go in some hidden house on the top of the mountain (called RIFUGI) where a family prepare a big pan for a group of people, or you can reach some of the many “CROTTI” typical Moutain`s people Inns.
Outside from the huge massive tourism ways of Italy, Valtellina is a little pearl that is only waiting to be discovered from the most adventurous and sporty visitors.
