Pizzoccheri are a traditional dish from Valtellina, a mountainous region between northern Lombardia and Switzerland. The dish has ancient origins, with some believing that the Romans already knew them, as we will see. 

The recipe is quite simple: a dough made with fresh buckwheat flour, the pizzoccheri themselves, which is then cut into wide strips and dressed with cheese, butter, potatoes, and savoy cabbage. Their rustic texture makes them perfect to hold on to and exalt all the flavors. One peculiarity of this delicious type of pasta is that it’s not made with cereals at all, as buckwheat is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae, with grain-like seeds.