Pizzoccheri

Pizzoccheri are buckwheat pasta made in Valtellina, an Alpine valley in Lombardy. Buckwheat is one of the few crops that grows in this mountainous valley and it is mixed here with the other two local produce, potatoes and cabbage. I have also made pizzoccheri with the green parts of Swiss chard or spring greens. It is a dish full of intense earthy flavours, which, whenever I eat it, takes me back to that beautiful valley, its delicious food and skiing.