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 do-it-yourself egg pasta sheets reduce into squares (fleckerl) after which baked with cooked ham and Asiago. The do-it-yourself pasta is straightforward to make. However, you’ll be able to cheat through the use of ready-made lasagne pasta sheets. A brilliant tacky pasta bake that every 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 referred to as schinkenflekerl. The names are extra German than Italian!

It’s because Italy’s South Tyrol not solely borders with Austria however was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1815 to 1919. Though an Italian area, nearly all of individuals there use German once they write and communicate in an Austro-Bavarian dialect. 

As you’ll be able to think about, the South Tyrolean delicacies may be very influenced by the Austrian kitchen. Actually, schinkenfleckerl is a standard dish in Austria, the place many outlets promote ‘fleckerl’, ready-made egg pasta squares. In addition they make one other conventional dish with this pasta referred to as krautfleckerl with cabbage and bacon.

What are pasta squares referred to as in Italian?

Outdoors of the South Tyrol, Italians don’t use the identify fleckerl to explain egg pasta squares. As an alternative, they name pasta squares quadrucci or quadretti. Nevertheless, this pasta is often smaller than fleckerl. It’s extra a kind of pastina and principally utilized in soups and broth.

In some Italian recipes, the identify quadrotti is used to consult with barely bigger pasta squares. However that can also be a well-liked identify for sq. ravioli!

Bigger pasta squares are sometimes referred to as fazzoletti in Italian which means handkerchiefs. However, handkerchief pasta is historically a lot larger 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 referred to 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 measurement, 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 can be known as maltagliati. These embrace pasta reduce into triangles, rhomboids, rectangles and squares! Some have a special 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 referred to as the Encyclopaedia of pasta by Oretta Zanini de Vita. It is a nice useful resource for pasta lovers. It contains actually lots of of kinds of pasta and pasta dishes and is filled with historic and geographical data.

It isn’t a recipe ebook as there are not any lists of elements or detailed recipe directions. However, it’s a reference ebook that data all the normal kinds of pasta in Italy from essentially the most obscure to essentially the most well-known!

Based on 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 ingredient portions though I didn’t use rye flour which this recipe requires. Rye flour is a standard ingredient within the South Tyrolean kitchen. They use it to make each bread and pasta.

Find out how to make this ham and cheese pasta bake recipe.

Regardless of what one would possibly name the pasta squares on this recipe or how comparable it’s to schinkenfleckerl, this baked pasta is straightforward to make and severely good! The pasta squares are blended with a number of butter and cheese after which layered with items of ham and baked till the tacky prime has melted and turn out to be somewhat browned.

Aside from making the contemporary pasta, this recipe requires little or no preparation. All you want to do is soften butter and reduce the ham and cheese into small cubes. Then parboil the pasta and blend it with the opposite elements and bake. Straightforward proper? Additionally an excellent recipe for leftover vacation ham.

The cheese.

I made this recipe with Asiago. It is a superb melting cheese from the mountains near the place I reside. 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 pair of,000 metres above sea degree.

Clearly, that cheese isn’t simply out there exterior of Italy. However Asiago is, and in any other case gruyere or fontina would work effectively 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 tender 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, you want to roll it out into sheets after which reduce into squares. You should utilize a pasta machine (as we did) or roll the dough out with a rolling pin.

When you 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 number 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.

When you have leftovers, you’ll be able to maintain them sealed within the fridge for a day or two. I wish to reheat leftovers as particular person parts within the microwave.

Let me know what you assume.

Whether or not you make this South Tyrolean ham and cheese pasta bake with contemporary do-it-yourself 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. Undoubtedly one to attempt!

When you do do that recipe, I’d like to know what you assume. Please write a remark right here on the weblog or put up a touch upon the Pasta Project Facebook page.

Your suggestions means rather a lot to me!

Buon Appetito!

Ham and Cheese Pasta Bake from the South Tyrol

Jacqui

This straightforward ham and cheese pasta bake from the Italian mountains is historically made with do-it-yourself pasta squares however you too can use prepared lasagne sheets as an alternative. A brilliant household baked pasta recipe made with pantry staples.

Prep Time 1 hr

Cook dinner Time 15 minutes

Course Major Course

Delicacies Italian, Northern Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige

Elements  

To make the pasta dough

• 7 oz Italian ’00’ tender wheat flour (200g) or all function 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.
• 3.5 oz butter (100g)
• salt to style

Directions 

To make the pasta squares

• See step-by-step directions under this recipe card to make pasta sheets

• Minimize 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 kind of the identical measurement.

End, bake and serve.

• Minimize the ham and cheese into small cubes. Soften the butter in a small saucepan.

• Cook 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.

• 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.

• 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

This recipe will be made with any good melting cheese reminiscent of Asiago, Gruyere or Fontina.
As an alternative of constructing contemporary pasta, you need to use prepared made lasagne sheets. Partly boil them in salted water, drain and funky. Then reduce into small squares.
Leftovers will be saved within the fridge in a sealed container for 1-2 days and reheated within the microwave.

Key phrase baked pasta recipe, do-it-yourself pasta, pasta bake

Find out how to make contemporary egg pasta sheets.

1. 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 tender and pliable.

5. Roll the dough right into a ball and let it relaxation for half-hour wrapped in clingfilm or a moist tea towel.

6. After the dough has rested, reduce off one third and rewrap the remainder. Roll the dough piece out so you’ll be able to go it by means of a pasta machine.

7. Move 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 occasions 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 contemporary egg pasta sheets.

1. Basil pesto lasagna
2. Ham and cheese pasta roses
3. Smoked salmon pasta rosettes.
4. Poached salmon and asparagus lasagna.
5. Italian lamb lasagna.

Are you curious about studying how one can make different kinds of do-it-yourself pasta and various kinds of gnocchi? Then try 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 when you’re there why not order a duplicate of certainly one of my pasta recipe cookbooks or checkout some beneficial pasta making instruments?