Ham and Cheese Pasta Bake Recipe from the South Tyrol – The Pasta Mission
This straightforward ham and cheese pasta bake recipe from the mountainous South Tyrol (Alto Adige) is made with home made egg pasta sheets reduce into squares (fleckerl) after which baked with cooked ham and Asiago. The home made pasta is easy to make. However, you possibly can cheat by utilizing ready-made lasagne pasta sheets. An excellent tacky pasta bake that each one the household will love!
Italian recipe with a German identify.
Referred to as schunchenfletz within the South Tyrol, this baked pasta with ham and cheese is a simplified model of one other native dish known as schinkenflekerl. The names are extra German than Italian!
It is because Italy’s South Tyrol not solely borders with Austria however was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire till 1919. Though an Italian area, the vast majority of folks there use German after they write and converse in an Austro-Bavarian or South Tyrolean dialect.
As you possibly can think about, the South Tyrolean delicacies may be very influenced by the Austrian kitchen. The truth is, schinkenfleckerl is a conventional dish in Austria, the place many retailers promote ‘fleckerl’, ready-made egg pasta squares. Additionally they make one other conventional dish with this pasta known as krautfleckerl with cabbage and bacon.
What are pasta squares known as in Italian?
Outdoors of the South Tyrol, Italians don’t use the identify fleckerl to explain egg pasta squares. As a substitute, they name pasta squares quadrucci or quadretti. Nonetheless, this pasta is often smaller than fleckerl. It’s extra a kind of pastina and largely utilized in soups and broth.
In some Italian recipes, the identify quadrotti is used to seek advice from barely bigger pasta squares. However that can be a preferred identify for sq. ravioli!
Bigger pasta squares are sometimes known as fazzoletti in Italian that means handkerchiefs. However, handkerchief pasta is historically a lot greater than the pasta on this baked ham and cheese pasta squares recipe. It’s additionally not usually baked, though there’s a recipe for baked fazzoletti from Abruzzo known as fregnacce abruzzese.
As a result of the pasta on this ham and cheese pasta bake recipe is handmade and the pasta squares don’t should be uniform in dimension, we will additionally name this a kind of maltagliati.
Maltagliati means badly reduce in Italian and there are numerous kinds of flat pasta items which might be known as maltagliati. These embrace pasta reduce into triangles, rhomboids, rectangles and squares! Some have a distinct identify like patallette from Abruzzo or cresc’tajat in Marche.
The origins of this baked pasta squares recipe.
I first got here throughout this recipe in a beautiful ebook known as the Encyclopaedia of pasta by Oretta Zanini de Vita. It is a nice useful resource for pasta lovers. It consists of actually a whole lot of kinds of pasta and pasta dishes and is filled with historic and geographical info.
It isn’t a recipe ebook as there aren’t any lists of components or detailed recipe directions. However, it’s a reference ebook that data all the standard kinds of pasta in Italy from probably the most obscure to probably the most well-known!
In line with Ms. Zanini de Vita, the primary written reference to this baked ham and cheese pasta squares (schunchenfletz) was made within the 1800s. This recipe was included in a handwritten recipe ebook belonging to a sure de Montel household that dates again to earlier than 1820. The ebook was copied in Rome in 1871.
There are only a few variations of this recipe on-line. I did uncover a pair in Italian, in fact. This is one that I followed for the principle components though I didn’t use rye flour which this recipe requires. Rye flour is a conventional ingredient within the South Tyrolean kitchen. They use it to make each bread and pasta.
How you can make this ham and cheese pasta bake recipe.
Regardless of what one may name the pasta squares on this recipe or how related it’s to schinkenfleckerl, this baked pasta is simple to make and significantly good! The pasta squares are combined with a number of butter and cheese after which layered with items of ham and baked till the tacky prime has melted and turn into a bit of browned.
Aside from making the recent pasta, this recipe requires little or no preparation. All it’s essential to do is soften butter and reduce the ham and cheese into small cubes. Then parboil the pasta and blend it with the opposite components and bake. Straightforward proper? Additionally a terrific recipe for leftover vacation ham.
The cheese.
I made this recipe with Asiago. It is a excellent melting cheese from the mountains near the place I dwell. The cheese in one of many recipes I discovered for this dish is Il Puzzone di Moena (Spretz Tzaorì). It is a mountain cheese from the South Tyrol made solely from the milk of cows grazing at between 1,000 and a couple of,000 metres above sea stage.
Clearly, that cheese isn’t simply accessible outdoors of Italy. However Asiago is, and in any other case gruyere or fontina would work nicely too!
Making the pasta squares.
This recipe calls for traditional egg pasta sheets that are then reduce into squares. The pasta is similar as for lasagna. It has simply mushy wheat flour, salt and eggs which you combine collectively in a bowl after which knead right into a dough.
As soon as the dough has rested, it’s essential to roll it out into sheets after which reduce into squares. You should use a pasta machine (as we did) or roll the dough out with a rolling pin.
If you happen to don’t need to make your individual pasta for this recipe, simply half cook dinner dried lasagne sheets in boiling salted water, drain them and reduce them into squares as soon as they’ve cooled.
End and bake.
As soon as your pasta squares are prepared, soften some butter and blend it with the pasta. Then add a few of the cheese and salt to style. combine once more. The subsequent step is to grease an oven dish and make a layer of the pasta squares.
Cowl this with some items of ham and cheese after which make one other layer of pasta. As soon as once more, cowl this with ham and cheese. Then, bake the dish till all of the cheese has melted and began to brown.
What to do with leftovers.
If in case you have leftovers, you possibly can preserve them sealed within the fridge for a day or two. I prefer to reheat leftovers as particular person parts within the microwave.
Let me know what you suppose.
Whether or not you make this South Tyrolean ham and cheese pasta bake with recent home made pasta squares or utilizing prepared lasagne sheets, this can be a tremendous straightforward recipe. All you want is pasta or flour and eggs to make your individual, plus salt, ham, cheese and butter. These are all pantry staples. Positively one to strive!
If you happen to do do this recipe, I’d like to know what you suppose. Please write a remark right here on the weblog or put up a touch upon the Pasta Project Facebook page.
Your suggestions means loads to me!
Buon Appetito!
Ham and Cheese Pasta Bake from the South Tyrol
This straightforward ham and cheese pasta bake from the Italian mountains is historically made with home made pasta squares however you can even use prepared lasagne sheets as an alternative. An excellent household baked pasta recipe made with pantry staples.
Elements
To make the pasta dough
- 7 oz Italian ’00’ mushy wheat flour (200g) or all objective flour
- 2 eggs (giant)
- 1 pinch salt
To complete the dish
- 7 oz Asiago cheese (200g) or gruyere, fontina and so on reduce into cubes
- 5 oz cooked ham (150g) reduce into cubes. Leftover vacation ham works rather well on this recipe.
- 2.5 oz butter (75g)
- salt to style
Directions
To make the pasta squares
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See step-by-step directions beneath this recipe card to make pasta sheets
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Lower every sheet of pasta into 3x3cm (1.2in) squares. Place prepared squares on a floured floor till all are prepared. The squares do not should be good simply roughly the identical dimension.
End, bake and serve.
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Lower the ham and cheese into small cubes. Soften the butter in a small saucepan.
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Prepare dinner the pasta squares in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes till al dente. Drain and put in a bowl with melted butter and a few cheese cubes. Add salt and blend rigorously.
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Butter an oven dish after which make a layer of pasta squares in it. Cowl this with items of ham and cheese after which make one other layer and canopy this in ham and cheese too.
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Bake your ham and cheese pasta squares in a preheated oven at 180°c (356°f) for about quarter-hour or till the cheese has melted and the highest has browned barely. Let your baked pasta relaxation for five minutes earlier than serving.
Notes
As a substitute of constructing recent pasta, you should utilize prepared made lasagne sheets. Partly boil them in salted water, drain and funky. Then reduce into small squares.
Leftovers could be saved within the fridge in a sealed container for 1-2 days and reheated within the microwave.
How you can make recent egg pasta sheets.
- Sift the flour right into a bowl and add eggs and salt.
2. Beat the eggs with a fork.
3. Proceed mixing the flour and eggs till you’ve got the beginning of a dough. Use your fingers to knead the dough till it now not sticks to the aspect of the bowl.
4. Flip the dough out onto a flour dusted work floor and knead for 7-10 minutes till mushy and pliable.
5. Roll the dough right into a ball and let it relaxation for half-hour wrapped in clingfilm or a humid tea towel.
6. After the dough has rested, reduce off one third and rewrap the remainder. Roll the dough piece out so you possibly can go it by means of a pasta machine.
7. Cross the dough by means of the widest setting in your machine. Then fold it in thirds and repeat twice.
8. Then, go the sheet by means of the machine 2 or 3 instances extra on narrower settings.
The widest setting on my machine is 7. After 7 I then go the dough by means of 5 after which 3. The dough sheet doesn’t should be tremendous skinny to make pasta squares. On some machines the widest setting is 1. It’s also possible to simply roll out the dough with a rolling pin.
Different baked pasta recipes in your recent egg pasta sheets.
- Basil pesto lasagna
- Ham and cheese pasta roses
- Smoked salmon pasta rosettes.
- Poached salmon and asparagus lasagna.
- Italian lamb lasagna.
Are you interested by studying make different kinds of home made pasta and several types of gnocchi? Then take a look at my store web page for some nice video on-line programs from my buddies in Rome! Nothing beats studying to make pasta from Italians! Plus whilst you’re there why not order a replica of one among my pasta recipe cookbooks or checkout some really helpful pasta making instruments?
Extra Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol
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