Pizzoccheri

Now that winter seems to be finally coming to an end, I thought I would make Pizzoccheri one more time. I learned about Pizzoccheri from a couple of different place recently: reading Mark Bittman's article and recipe in the New York Times and eating at L'Artusi (whose version is fantastic). Both times I have made the dish I have cross-referenced two recipes: Bittman's recipe and Antonio Carluccio's recipe on BBC Food.

Pizzoccheri is a Northern Italian (Valtellina) dish made with the Pizzoccheri which is type of buckwheat tagliatelle noodle (flat ribbon). It is made with the noodle, potato, greens (chard, cabbage, or brussels sprouts), Fontina Val d'Aosta, parmesan, butter, garlic, sage. It is a rich, hearty, and dare I say it, heavy dish that is great for the winter time. The calories and heartiness help protect you from the winter's gripping edge. This dish is great for a cold Sunday late afternoon, early evening paired with a bottle of Northen Italian red wine (dolcetto, nebbiolo, etc.).

This time around, I used more butter than needed - there was some puddling of butter on the bottom of the dish - which honestly was delicious, but can "freak" some people out. One of my dining companions noted that there is no such thing as too much butter in a dish, to quote: "thanks for bringing the greatest calorie per ounce dish ever created."