Pizzoccheri della Valtellina

The name “Pizzoccheri” refers both to the Pizzoccheri pasta and to the Pizzoccheri dish. Pizzoccheri are a specialty of Valtellina.

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Valtellina or the Valtelline valley is a valley in region Lombardia (Lombardy region) and bordering Switzerland. Valtellina is known for its skiing, its hot spring spas, its cheeses (in particular Bitto, named after the torrent Bitto) and its wines. In past centuries it was a key alpine pass between northern Italy and Germany and control of the Valtellina was much sought after, particularly during the Thirty Years' War.

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For making the Pizzoccheri dish you have to use Pizzoccheri pasta, which is made of buckwheat flour (2/3), durum wheat flour (1/3), salt and water. Pizzoccheri have the same shape as fettuccine, width 1 cm and thin 1mm, but length 5 cm. In Italy you can find Pizzoccheri pasta in any supermarket.

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The Pizzoccheri dish from Valtellina is a local legend, it was once considered a "piatto povero" or "poor-man’s dish" because of it’s basic ingredients... a heavy dish like this would probably be enough calories and fats to work in harsh winter conditions day after day.

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