Schinkenfleckerl Baked Pasta and Ham – The Pasta Challenge

Schinkenfleckerl is a wealthy baked pasta and ham recipe from Italy’s South Tyrol and Austria. This ham and noodle casserole requires historically do-it-yourself egg pasta squares baked with bitter cream, eggs, ham and breadcrumbs. In fact, this dish will be made with different varieties of pasta too.

The place is the South Tyrol?

Additionally known as the Alto Adige in Italian, this stunning mountain area lies in Northeast Italy, on the border with Austria. It’s a part of the autonomous Trentino-Alto Adige area.

This beautiful a part of Italy stretches throughout the Dolomite Alps and is, in fact, very mountainous and lined in pine forests. The meals, tradition and life-style of the South Tyrol appears extra central European than Italian.

What’s fleckerl pasta?

Fleckerl pasta is historically do-it-yourself egg pasta squares. This pasta is the idea of quite a lot of typical Austrian dishes akin to Krautfleckerl (cabbage and pasta) or Grenadiermarsch (potatoes, pasta and generally bacon of ham hock)) and the Schinkenfleckerl pasta and ham casserole on this recipe.

In The South Tyrol, Austria, Germany and Hungary, it’s attainable to purchase dried fleckerl. These are often produced from eggs and arduous wheat flour and will have barely ruffled edges.

You will discover versons of krautfleckerl and/or grenadiermarsch in Hungarian, Croatian, Czech, Polish and German delicacies, in addition to different areas which have been a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Schinkenfleckerl, then again, appears to be principally an Austrian, German or Northern Italian recipe. Nevertheless, fleckerl pasta can be utilized in an analogous South Tyrolean recipe known as schunchenfletz, one other baked pasta and ham recipe which is a simplified model schinkenflekerl.

Italian recipes with German names.

The Italian South Tyrol was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire till 1919 and that is why quite a lot of typical native dishes have German names.

In actual fact, though an Italian area, the vast majority of folks on this a part of Italy use German after they write and converse in an Austro-Bavarian dialect.  Plus, most streets and cities have each an Italian and German identify.

What are pasta squares known as in different components of Italy?

Outdoors of the South Tyrol, Italians don’t name egg pasta squares, fleckerl. In actual fact, fleckerl pasta isn’t identified in different components of Italy. As an alternative, they confer with pasta squares as quadrucci or quadretti.

Nevertheless, this pasta is usually smaller than fleckerl and is usually utilized in soups and broths. Italian names for bigger pasta squares are quadrotti or fazzoletti.

How one can make do-it-yourself fleckerl pasta.

The pasta on this schinkenfleckerl recipe is kind of simple to make. Principally the dough is identical as different egg pasta like lasagne with 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, you roll it into sheets after which lower it into squares. You need to use a pasta machine (as we did) or roll the dough out with a rolling pin.

Should you don’t wish to make your individual pasta for this recipe, simply half prepare dinner dried lasagne sheets or large ribbons like pappardelle in boiling salted water, drain them and lower them into squares as soon as they’ve cooled.

Alternatively, you should use prepared made recent lasagne sheets or large egg pasta noodles.

Different elements in schinkenfleckerl.

The ham.

Schinken means ham in German and cooked ham is essentially the most conventional meat used on this South Tyrolean baked pasta recipe. You need to use sliced or cubed ham. It is a nice recipe for utilizing up leftover vacation ham too.

The eggs.

That is an egg wealthy recipe. Eggs are used to make the pasta and contained in the casserole too. So, this recipe requires 5-6 recent eggs, relying on the scale. I like to make use of recent massive natural eggs. These eggs are extra nutritious than others as a result of the hens are fed top quality feed and dwell higher lives.

Carry the eggs to room temperature earlier than utilizing for those who hold them within the fridge.

Breadcrumbs.

You need to use do-it-yourself or store-bought breadcrumbs. Some folks sprinkle breadcrumbs excessive of the pasta and ham earlier than baking. I didn’t try this this time. Nevertheless, it does give the dish a barely crispy topping.

Butter and bitter cream.

As is widespread in Italy, I used unsalted butter. Should you use salted butter, don’t add salt to the pasta and ham combination when placing it collectively.

Bitter cream (panna acida) isn’t extensively out there right here in Italy, so after I can’t discover it, I make my very own with equal portions of recent cream and plain white yogurt, and just a little recent lemon juice.

Alternatively, you possibly can sub the bitter cream with crème fraiche. It is a bit thicker than bitter cream and has a better fats content material, however it works effectively on this recipe.

How one can make schinkenfleckerl.

After you have made the pasta dough (see step-by-step directions under the recipe card) and rolled it out into sheets, you have to to chop it into 3x3cm (1.2in) squares. Place the prepared squares on a floured floor till it’s time to prepare dinner them.

Professional Tip : The pasta squares don’t should be excellent simply roughly the identical measurement.

2. The subsequent step on this schinkenfleckerl recipe is to place a pot of water on to boil for the pasta and put together the opposite elements. Reduce the ham into small cubes. Subsequent separate the egg yolks and whites and cream the butter. Then butter an oven dish and coat the underside and sides with breadcrumbs.

3. Prepare dinner the pasta within the boiling salted water till al dente. Selfmade fleckerl takes about 5 minutes. Then drain the pasta and put it in a big bowl. Combine within the creamed butter and permit to chill.

4. Subsequent, add the overwhelmed egg yolks, the bitter cream, and the ham. Combine all the pieces collectively and season with salt and pepper.

5. Whip the egg whites till stiff and fold them into the pasta and ham combination.

6. Pour the pasta and ham combination into the breadcrumb coated oven dish and bake for about 35-45 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°c. Enable your schinkenfleckerl to relaxation for five minutes earlier than reducing into parts and serving.

What to do with leftovers

When you have leftovers of this schinkenfeckerl baked pasta and ham, you possibly can hold them sealed within the fridge for a day or two. I prefer to reheat leftovers as particular person parts within the microwave or in a highly regarded oven.

Let me know what you assume.

Whether or not you make your individual pasta squares, use prepared dried fleckerl pasta or go for an additional kind of pasta, this baked noodle and ham casserole is bound to turn out to be a household favorite. It’s wealthy, creamy and so very tasty. The children will adore it too!

Should you do do this recipe, I’d love to listen to what you assume. Please do write a evaluation right here on the weblog or submit a touch upon the Pasta Challenge Fb web page.

Your suggestions means quite a bit to me!

Buon Appetito!

Different household pleasant baked pasta recipes with ham.

1. Tagliolini au gratin from Venice.
2. Neapolitan baked ziti.
3. Lasagna Valdostana from The Aosta valley.
4. Neapolitan tagliolini pasta pie.
5. Baked pasta roses from Emilia-Romagna.

Pin for later.

How one can make recent egg pasta sheets.

Sift the flour right into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and a couple of eggs.

Beat the eggs with a fork after which combine them into the flour till they’re effectively included.

Utilizing your fingers combine and knead till you might have a dough that not sticks to the edges of the bowl.

Flip the dough out onto a floured work floor or pastry board. Knead for 7-10 minutes till the dough is mushy, pliable, and elastic.

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

As soon as the dough has rested lower off a 3rd and rewrap the remaining to maintain it from drying out. Flatten the dough piece you chop off together with your hand or a rolling pin so it should cross via the widest setting of your pasta machine.

Go the dough via the widest setting of your pasta machine. Fold it in thirds and cross it via once more. Do that 2 to three instances. Then, cross the sheet via the machine 2 or 3 instances extra on narrower settings.

The widest setting on my machine is 7. After 7 I then cross the dough via 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.

You can too simply roll out the dough with a rolling pin.

If you’re all in favour of studying tips on how to make different do-it-yourself pasta and various kinds of gnocchi, try my store web page for some nice video on-line programs from my pals in Rome! Nothing beats studying to make pasta from Italians! Plus whilst you’re there why not order a replica of one in every of my pasta recipe cookbooks or checkout some beneficial pasta making instruments?