Travel to the far north of Italy and the terrain gets rougher, the weather colder, and the pastas more rustic. For centuries, buckwheat was one of the few grains hardy enough to survive in Valtellina, a small valley in the shadow of the Alps, and it shows in the food.
One such beloved tradition is pizzoccheri, a short, ribbon-shaped buckwheat noodle that’s baked like a casserole into a stick-to-your-ribs meal. Loaded with two kinds of cheese, potatoes, cabbage and sturdy greens, pizzoccheri feels like a perfect fit for the waning days of winter.
