In Italy buckwheat is used mainly in Valtellina, a valley on the Alps just at the north of Lake Como.
I give you two recipes:
Sciatt, buckwheat fritters filled with cheese (Sciatt means toad in the local dialect)
Pizzoccheri, buckwheat noodles seasoned with a lot of things (see the recipe)
Sciatt
[FONT="]Ingredients (4 servings):[/FONT]
[FONT="]1 2/3 cup buckwheat flour[/FONT]
[FONT="]½ cup white flour[/FONT]
[FONT="]9 oz Bitto cheese (or use any semi-fat melting cheese)[/FONT]
[FONT="]3 tablespoons of Grappa[/FONT]
[FONT="]sparkling water[/FONT]
[FONT="]oil for frying[/FONT]
[FONT="]salt[/FONT]
[FONT="]Mix the two flours, the Grappa, a pinch of salt and enough sparkling water to obtain a smooth batter.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Dice the cheese in cubes with a side of about ¾ inch.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Put the cheese cubes in the batter, mix and let rest for 2 hours in the fridge.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Take about half a ladle of batter, making sure to have one or two cheese cubes in it and fry in hot oil.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Use two tablespoons to give a round shape to the fritters.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Drain the Sciatt on paper towel and serve hot on a bed of chicory.[/FONT]
Pizzoccheri
[FONT="]Ingredients: (6 servings)[/FONT]
[FONT="]3 1/3 cups buckwheat flour[/FONT]
[FONT="]1 2/3 cups white flour[/FONT]
[FONT="]10.5 oz butter[/FONT]
[FONT="]14 oz Bitto cheese[/FONT][FONT="] (you can replace it with Fontina, Gouda or Edam cheese)[/FONT]
[FONT="]1 2/3 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese[/FONT]
[FONT="]1 2/3 cups chards[/FONT]
[FONT="]5-6 potatoes[/FONT]
[FONT="]4-5 garlic cloves[/FONT]
[FONT="]6-8 sage leaves[/FONT]
[FONT="]salt[/FONT]
[FONT="]coarse ground black pepper[/FONT]
[FONT="]Knead the two flours with a pinch of salt and enough water to obtain a firm dough.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Roll the dough with a [/FONT][FONT="]thickness of about a little less than 1/4 in [/FONT][FONT="]and cut out noodles of about 1/4 in of width and about 3 in of length.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Peel and cut the potatoes in pieces about the size of a walnut.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Clean the chards and cut out the stalks.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Put the chard stalks in salty boiling water.[/FONT]
[FONT="]After 5 minutes add the potatoes.[/FONT]
[FONT="]After other 5 minutes add the chard leaves and the noodles.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Let boil for about 10 minutes.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Meanwhile brown the garlic cloves and the sage in the butter.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Drain the noodles (and everything in the pot).[/FONT]
[FONT="]Put a third of the pizzoccheri in a large bowl, add half of the cheeses and half of the melted butter. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cover with another third of the pizzoccheri and add the remaining cheese and butter.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cover with the last third of the pizzoccheri and sprinkle with a lot of black pepper.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Let rest 2-3 minutes for the cheese to melt, mix very well and serve immediately.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]