Buckwheat: noodles, soba, pizzoccheri

Mark Bittman's (Bitten blog) Pizzoccheri recipe ---


Pizzoccheri
By MARK BITTMAN
Published: December 29, 2008
Time: 30 minutes

1 stick butter ( 1/4 pound)
4 fresh sage leaves
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1 medium potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small head Savoy cabbage, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 pound flat, broad buckwheat noodles (pizzoccheri) or whole wheat noodles
1 cup fontina Val d’Aosta (or other good semisoft) cheese, grated
1 cup Parmesan, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups homemade bread crumbs.
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter with sage and garlic until butter turns nut-brown; be careful not to burn sage leaves. Set aside.

2. Cook potato and cabbage in boiling water until they begin to soften, just 5 minutes or so. Add pasta to same pot and continue to cook until pasta is nearly done. Drain.

3. In a large oven-proof dish, spread a layer of vegetable-pasta combination, then a layer of grated fontina, then a layer of grated Parmesan; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue this layering until all ingredients are used, ending with a layer of Parmesan; ideally you will have four layers of each. Cover dish with bread crumbs and drizzle with melted butter and sage (discard garlic). Bake for about 15 minutes, or until top is golden-brown and cheese has melted. Serve hot or warm.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.


photo by Evan Sung --

That looks good, osso!

I, of course, would never discard garlic.

Absolutely not! Perish the thought, osso!