Sciatt

Sciatt (literally meaning ‘toad’), from the Valtellina, in northern Lombardy, are extremely moreish buckwheat fritters that enclose melting cheese. I fi rst ate these at a trattoria in Bianzone, owned by Anna Bertola. She uses a 50/50 mixture of coarse and fi ne-ground buckwheat fl our, but I’ve never had any problems using just fi ne ground. One way to serve these is on a bed of green, slightly bitter cicoria leaves, which contrast well with the richness of the deep-fried cheese, or I often use escarole or watercress. sciatt with cicoria

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Put the fl ours, salt, beer and grappa into a bowl and mix to make a smooth batter. Add water to loosen slightly if needed, but make sure that the mixture is thick. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

Step 2

Mix the bicarbonate of soda into the chilled batter.

Step 3

Pour about a 10cm depth of oil into a high-sided pan. Heat the oil to 190°C on a cooking thermometer.

Step 4

One at a time, use long tongs to take hold of each cube of cheese, dip it in the batter to coat thoroughly and drop it into the hot oil. Repeat, cooking the fritters in batches and taking care not to overcrowd the pan.

Step 5

Carefully turn the fritters over in the oil using a large perforated spoon so that they brown all over – it will take about 3–4 minutes per batch.

Step 6

Set aside each batch to drain on kitchen paper while you cook the next.

Step 7

Dress the leaves to taste with the extra-virgin olive oil and the vinegar.

Step 8

Arrange the sciatt on top and serve.