BLECS
Buckwheat flour, fioretto cornmeal, butter, sage, and Montasio cheese
Effortless
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Fifty-five minutes
620 Kcal
BLECS
Buckwheat flour, fioretto cornmeal, butter, sage, and Montasio cheese
Effortless
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Fifty-five minutes
620 Kcal
BLECS
Buckwheat flour, fioretto cornmeal, butter, sage, and Montasio cheese
Effortless
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Fifty-five minutes
620 Kcal
GENESIS
Blecs, also known as blécs or biechi in the linguistic heritage of Friuli, represent one of the most authentic and evocative primal courses of the rural civilization of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The etymology of the term traces its lineage to the dialectal word blec, which denotes a scrap of fabric or the patch once employed to mend workwear worn thin by toil. This nomenclature faithfully depicts the pasta's morphology: the dough, rolled rigorously by hand with a rolling pin, is not shaped into regular geometric forms, but rather cut into unequal lozenges, triangles, and quadrilaterals, a testament to a domestic cuisine founded upon preservation and the absolute absence of waste.
The gastronomic distinction of blecs lies within the harmonious marriage of diverse flours. Alongside tender wheat, the traditional recipe calls for the use of rustic grains typical of the Carnic Alps and the foothills, most notably buckwheat—historically christened formenton neri—and finely ground cornmeal. The introduction of buckwheat to Friuli dates back to the late Middle Ages, favored by the plant's extraordinary capacity to flourish in arid soils and harsh climates. The dough is enriched by the addition of butter, a fundamental ingredient to bestow elasticity upon a composition characterized by a fragile gluten matrix.
The traditional dressing of foaming melted butter, sage, and toasted cornmeal constitutes the celebrated Friulian morchia (morcje), an ancestral seasoning technique born in high mountain dairies. The cornmeal, slowly toasted in cow's fat alongside aromatic garden herbs, develops a characteristic nutty note that marries masterfully with the savoriness of aged Montasio cheese, restoring to the palate the austere and generous essence of the Friulian autumnal feast.
PORTIONS (FOR 4 PERSONS)
FOR THE FRESHLY KNEADED PASTA
Flour 00
Buckwheat flour
Fine fioretto cornmeal
Softened butter
Medium eggs
Lukewarm water
150 g
100 g
50 g
70 g
2
As needed
FOR THE SEASONING
Butter
Fioretto corn flour
Sage
Grated Montasio cheese
Coarse salt
140 g
40 g
10 leaves
100 g
As needed
CURATION
For the fresh pasta:
Arrange the "00" flour, buckwheat flour, and fine maize flour in a classic well on a wooden pastry board, blending them harmoniously. Create an hollow in the center and introduce the eggs alongside the softened butter, cut into small pieces. Begin to draw the flours inward from the center using a fork. Then, knead the dough with your hands, using vigorous and rhythmic movements for approximately ten minutes. Should the dough feel too dry, add a splash of tepid water until it achieves a compact, smooth, and pliable consistency. Shape it into a sphere, wrap it in cling film, and let it rest at room temperature for at least thirty minutes.
Lightly dust the work surface with a whisper of flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin, bringing it to a uniform thickness of about two millimeters. Using a smooth pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the sheet into strips roughly three centimeters wide, then slice them diagonally to form asymmetrical triangles and lozenges. Arrange these hand-cut shapes on a tray dusted with a veil of maize flour to prevent them from sticking together.For the sauce:
Gently wash and dry the sage leaves with a pristine kitchen cloth. In a generous pan, preferably of aluminum or tinned copper, place the butter and the sage leaves. Set over a very gentle flame and allow the butter to melt until it begins to foam delicately. Rain in the maize flour, whisking continuously with a wire whisk or wooden spoon to ensure no lumps form. Allow it to toast over low heat for about five minutes, until the mixture assumes a golden hazelnut hue and diffuses a warm, toasted fragrance. Remove from the heat and keep warm.For the cooking and finishing touches:
Fill a spacious pot with abundant water, bring it to a lively boil, and season with coarse salt to taste. Plunge the "blecs" into the boiling water and cook them for about three minutes, stirring gently with a wooden spoon. Drain the pasta al dente, lifting it out with a slotted spoon, and transfer it directly into the pan with the toasted maize, butter, and sage sauce.
Set the burner to the lowest flame for just a moment, add a generous portion of grated Montasio cheese, and gently toss the pan to envelop every piece of pasta in the rich sauce. Plate the warm blecs and crown them with the remaining grated Montasio just before serving.
aspiration
For the toasting of the maize flour, watchfully govern the flame, lest the butter should burn, ensuring it preserves its signature, golden hazelnut hue.
Select a Montasio cheese of medium or venerable aging, sublime for elevating the toasted notes of the sediment without overpowering the buckwheat.
Ever preserve a cup of the pasta's cooking water, to be added drop by precious drop should you desire to further liquefy the final, velvet mantecatura.
GENESIS
Blecs, also known as blécs or biechi in the linguistic heritage of Friuli, represent one of the most authentic and evocative primal courses of the rural civilization of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The etymology of the term traces its lineage to the dialectal word blec, which denotes a scrap of fabric or the patch once employed to mend workwear worn thin by toil. This nomenclature faithfully depicts the pasta's morphology: the dough, rolled rigorously by hand with a rolling pin, is not shaped into regular geometric forms, but rather cut into unequal lozenges, triangles, and quadrilaterals, a testament to a domestic cuisine founded upon preservation and the absolute absence of waste.
The gastronomic distinction of blecs lies within the harmonious marriage of diverse flours. Alongside tender wheat, the traditional recipe calls for the use of rustic grains typical of the Carnic Alps and the foothills, most notably buckwheat—historically christened formenton neri—and finely ground cornmeal. The introduction of buckwheat to Friuli dates back to the late Middle Ages, favored by the plant's extraordinary capacity to flourish in arid soils and harsh climates. The dough is enriched by the addition of butter, a fundamental ingredient to bestow elasticity upon a composition characterized by a fragile gluten matrix.
The traditional dressing of foaming melted butter, sage, and toasted cornmeal constitutes the celebrated Friulian morchia (morcje), an ancestral seasoning technique born in high mountain dairies. The cornmeal, slowly toasted in cow's fat alongside aromatic garden herbs, develops a characteristic nutty note that marries masterfully with the savoriness of aged Montasio cheese, restoring to the palate the austere and generous essence of the Friulian autumnal feast.
PORTIONS (FOR 4 PERSONS)
FOR THE FRESHLY KNEADED PASTA
Flour 00
Buckwheat flour
Fine fioretto cornmeal
Softened butter
Medium eggs
Lukewarm water
150 g
100 g
50 g
70 g
2
As needed
FOR THE SEASONING
Butter
Fioretto corn flour
Sage
Grated Montasio cheese
Coarse salt
140 g
40 g
10 leaves
100 g
As needed
CURATION
For the fresh pasta:
Arrange the "00" flour, buckwheat flour, and fine maize flour in a classic well on a wooden pastry board, blending them harmoniously. Create an hollow in the center and introduce the eggs alongside the softened butter, cut into small pieces. Begin to draw the flours inward from the center using a fork. Then, knead the dough with your hands, using vigorous and rhythmic movements for approximately ten minutes. Should the dough feel too dry, add a splash of tepid water until it achieves a compact, smooth, and pliable consistency. Shape it into a sphere, wrap it in cling film, and let it rest at room temperature for at least thirty minutes.
Lightly dust the work surface with a whisper of flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin, bringing it to a uniform thickness of about two millimeters. Using a smooth pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the sheet into strips roughly three centimeters wide, then slice them diagonally to form asymmetrical triangles and lozenges. Arrange these hand-cut shapes on a tray dusted with a veil of maize flour to prevent them from sticking together.For the sauce:
Gently wash and dry the sage leaves with a pristine kitchen cloth. In a generous pan, preferably of aluminum or tinned copper, place the butter and the sage leaves. Set over a very gentle flame and allow the butter to melt until it begins to foam delicately. Rain in the maize flour, whisking continuously with a wire whisk or wooden spoon to ensure no lumps form. Allow it to toast over low heat for about five minutes, until the mixture assumes a golden hazelnut hue and diffuses a warm, toasted fragrance. Remove from the heat and keep warm.For the cooking and finishing touches:
Fill a spacious pot with abundant water, bring it to a lively boil, and season with coarse salt to taste. Plunge the "blecs" into the boiling water and cook them for about three minutes, stirring gently with a wooden spoon. Drain the pasta al dente, lifting it out with a slotted spoon, and transfer it directly into the pan with the toasted maize, butter, and sage sauce.
Set the burner to the lowest flame for just a moment, add a generous portion of grated Montasio cheese, and gently toss the pan to envelop every piece of pasta in the rich sauce. Plate the warm blecs and crown them with the remaining grated Montasio just before serving.
aspiration
For the toasting of the maize flour, watchfully govern the flame, lest the butter should burn, ensuring it preserves its signature, golden hazelnut hue.
Select a Montasio cheese of medium or venerable aging, sublime for elevating the toasted notes of the sediment without overpowering the buckwheat.
Ever preserve a cup of the pasta's cooking water, to be added drop by precious drop should you desire to further liquefy the final, velvet mantecatura.
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GENESIS
Blecs, also known as blécs or biechi in the linguistic heritage of Friuli, represent one of the most authentic and evocative primal courses of the rural civilization of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The etymology of the term traces its lineage to the dialectal word blec, which denotes a scrap of fabric or the patch once employed to mend workwear worn thin by toil. This nomenclature faithfully depicts the pasta's morphology: the dough, rolled rigorously by hand with a rolling pin, is not shaped into regular geometric forms, but rather cut into unequal lozenges, triangles, and quadrilaterals, a testament to a domestic cuisine founded upon preservation and the absolute absence of waste.
The gastronomic distinction of blecs lies within the harmonious marriage of diverse flours. Alongside tender wheat, the traditional recipe calls for the use of rustic grains typical of the Carnic Alps and the foothills, most notably buckwheat—historically christened formenton neri—and finely ground cornmeal. The introduction of buckwheat to Friuli dates back to the late Middle Ages, favored by the plant's extraordinary capacity to flourish in arid soils and harsh climates. The dough is enriched by the addition of butter, a fundamental ingredient to bestow elasticity upon a composition characterized by a fragile gluten matrix.
The traditional dressing of foaming melted butter, sage, and toasted cornmeal constitutes the celebrated Friulian morchia (morcje), an ancestral seasoning technique born in high mountain dairies. The cornmeal, slowly toasted in cow's fat alongside aromatic garden herbs, develops a characteristic nutty note that marries masterfully with the savoriness of aged Montasio cheese, restoring to the palate the austere and generous essence of the Friulian autumnal feast.
PORTIONS (FOR 4 PERSONS)
FOR THE FRESHLY KNEADED PASTA
Flour 00
Buckwheat flour
Fine fioretto cornmeal
Softened butter
Medium eggs
Lukewarm water
150 g
100 g
50 g
70 g
2
As needed
FOR THE SEASONING
Butter
Fioretto corn flour
Sage
Grated Montasio cheese
Coarse salt
140 g
40 g
10 leaves
100 g
As needed
CURATION
For the fresh pasta:
Arrange the "00" flour, buckwheat flour, and fine maize flour in a classic well on a wooden pastry board, blending them harmoniously. Create an hollow in the center and introduce the eggs alongside the softened butter, cut into small pieces. Begin to draw the flours inward from the center using a fork. Then, knead the dough with your hands, using vigorous and rhythmic movements for approximately ten minutes. Should the dough feel too dry, add a splash of tepid water until it achieves a compact, smooth, and pliable consistency. Shape it into a sphere, wrap it in cling film, and let it rest at room temperature for at least thirty minutes.
Lightly dust the work surface with a whisper of flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin, bringing it to a uniform thickness of about two millimeters. Using a smooth pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the sheet into strips roughly three centimeters wide, then slice them diagonally to form asymmetrical triangles and lozenges. Arrange these hand-cut shapes on a tray dusted with a veil of maize flour to prevent them from sticking together.For the sauce:
Gently wash and dry the sage leaves with a pristine kitchen cloth. In a generous pan, preferably of aluminum or tinned copper, place the butter and the sage leaves. Set over a very gentle flame and allow the butter to melt until it begins to foam delicately. Rain in the maize flour, whisking continuously with a wire whisk or wooden spoon to ensure no lumps form. Allow it to toast over low heat for about five minutes, until the mixture assumes a golden hazelnut hue and diffuses a warm, toasted fragrance. Remove from the heat and keep warm.For the cooking and finishing touches:
Fill a spacious pot with abundant water, bring it to a lively boil, and season with coarse salt to taste. Plunge the "blecs" into the boiling water and cook them for about three minutes, stirring gently with a wooden spoon. Drain the pasta al dente, lifting it out with a slotted spoon, and transfer it directly into the pan with the toasted maize, butter, and sage sauce.
Set the burner to the lowest flame for just a moment, add a generous portion of grated Montasio cheese, and gently toss the pan to envelop every piece of pasta in the rich sauce. Plate the warm blecs and crown them with the remaining grated Montasio just before serving.
aspiration
For the toasting of the maize flour, watchfully govern the flame, lest the butter should burn, ensuring it preserves its signature, golden hazelnut hue.
Select a Montasio cheese of medium or venerable aging, sublime for elevating the toasted notes of the sediment without overpowering the buckwheat.
Ever preserve a cup of the pasta's cooking water, to be added drop by precious drop should you desire to further liquefy the final, velvet mantecatura.