L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano P izzoccheri are a traditional dish from Valtellina, a m o u n t a i n o u s region between n o r t h e r n L o m b a r d i a a n d 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 d o u g h m a d e w i t h f r e s h buckwheat flour, the pizzoc- cheri 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 m a d e w i t h c e r e a l s a t a l l , as buckwheat is a flowering plant in the knotweed fami- ly Polygonaceae, with grain- like seeds. It was likely intro- duced in Europe in the 14th century by the Turks, even though some believe that it was already utilized in much e a r l i e r t i m e s t o p r e p a r e b r e a d a n d o t h e r f o o d . I n d e e d , s o m e t h i n k t h a t buckwheat pasta was already enjoyed by the Romans, who m a y h a v e l e a r n e d a b o u t buckwheat and its use from the Celts. The Celts were the most ancient inhabitants of the Alpine valleys of North- ern Italy, including Valtelli- na, and they were eventually conquered by the Romans w h o e m b r a c e d t h e u s e o f buckwheat and created the original, ante-litteram piz- zoccheri. However, we don't have certain proof of this theory a n d t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f experts stick with the idea that the dish was born later, probably in the Middle Ages, in Valtellina, the result of people's necessity to make a filling, nutritious dish with local products. Regardless of their origin, pizzoccheri have become a culinary symbol of Valtellina and are known and appreci- ated all over Italy: indeed, you can find both fresh and dried varieties of them virtu- ally in every supermarket of the Belpaese! While the original recipe remains, perhaps, the one we love the most, there are some local variations worth a try: for instance, in the small vil- lage of T e g l i o , always in Valtellina, pizzoccheri are dressed with a tomato and garlic sauce, while in Bor- mio, a town you likely know if you enjoy skiing, they are eaten with ragù. While they do not count among their ingredients neither potatoes nor savoy cabbage, both of these versions remain "tradi- tional," something we cer- tainly cannot say about new, m o r e m o d e r n c u l i n a r y declensions of pizzoccheri, b o r n f r o m t h e d e s i r e o f showing their versatility and m e e t t h e r e q u e s t s o f a n increasingly demanding pub- lic. Pizzoccheri made with vegetarian and vegan ingre- dients have been all the rage for a few winters now: think, of course, vegan butter and c h e e s e s , b u t a l s o t o f u , coconut oil, and a plethora of veggies like cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and mushrooms. Pizzoccheri are not too difficult to make at home, should you fancy trying: you just need to mix buckwheat flour with water and salt, u n t i l y o u g e t a s m o o t h dough. Then, you roll it thin- ly and cut it into strips about an inch and a half wide and two inches long. To dress them the traditional way, go for rich Alpine cheeses like Valtellina's own Bitto, made with local sheep milk mixed w i t h A l p i n e b r o w n c o w s ' milk. Bitto is very special because it's only made local- ly in the valley and must age for a minimum of 70 days in stone rooms. Besides cheese, add a good portion of butter to give the dish creaminess, and then the cooked pota- toes and savoy cabbage to enrich its texture. The secret is to keep some of the pasta's cooking water to create a light, yet creamy sauce with it. Pizzoccheri in Valtellina are so popular that many a f a i r i s d e d i c a t e d t o t h e m t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r . The Sagra dei Pizzoccheri in Teglio, the village which, incidentally, maintains to have invented pizzoccheri, takes place the last week of J u l y e v e r y y e a r ; i n m i d - A u g u s t , y o u c o u l d t r y the Festa della Polenta e dei Pizzoccheri in Grosio, where you'll find also other tradi- tional delicacies like bresao- la, sciatt and plenty of local cheeses. Chiavenna, the most important town in Valtellina, is home to the Sagra dei Piz- zoccheri, which takes place at the end of August every year. Last but not least, we should mention Traona and its Festa di San Giovanni, when pizzoccheri are cooked i n t h e t o w n s q u a r e a n d served to everyone. T o d a y ' s w o r d is caspita (cah- spee-tah), a com- mon exclamation you have probably heard quite often from your Italian friends and relatives. It wants to express surprise and sometimes even sadness or resentment. In English, you can simply translate it with "woah" or "wow," but also with "good heavens," "boy," "jeez," "gosh" and all other expressions and words that remind you of these! Its etymology is… interest- ing. Indeed, it is a 19th-centu- ry literary euphemism created to be used instead of a (still t o d a y ) v e r y c o m m o n a n d rather vulgar word for the male genitals, that we Italians use as an interjection a tad too often. I must say that our linguistically talented forefa- thers were so good at modify- i n g t h e o r i g i n a l w o r d that caspita doesn't sound anything like it. Caspita is quite common, and you can find it in sen- tences that show surprise, both positive and negative. F o r i n s t a n c e , y o u c a n say Caspita, sono felice che tu mi venga a trovare ("Wow, I'm happy you're coming to see me!"), but also Caspita, m i d i s p l a c e d a v v e r o tanto ("Gosh, I am so truly sorry"). At the same time, it can also appear in more varied contexts, such as in caspita, hai visto che traffico? ("Wow, have you seen the traffic?") and caspita, che gran pranzo, era tutto buonissimo ("boy, what a meal: everything was delicious"). In other words, if you are looking for something versatile, then caspita is the word for you! Don't be surprised if you also come across, albeit not as commonly, its diminutive, caspiterina: it does exist, but you hardly hear it spoken any- more, as it has become quite old-fashioned and feels anti- q u a t e d . Y o u c o m e across caspiterina in books, though! Its meaning is the exact same, so you could read something like Caspiterina, che sorpresa! ("Wow, what a surprise!"). Caspita, ci ho messo tutto il pomeriggio a finire questo essay Jeez, it took me the whole afternoon to finish this essay Caspita, conosci davvero Leonardo di Caprio? Woah, do you really know Leonardo di Caprio? Caspita che tristezza, il mio ristorante preferito ha chiuso. Boy, what a bummer. My favorite restaurant closed down. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the day: caspita — what a surprise! Italian Curiosities: pizzoccheri, Italy's strangest pasta? Pizzoccheri are traditional of Valtellina, in northern Lombardia (Photo: Al1962/Dreamstime) (Photo: MinervaStudio/Dreamstime)

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