Mountain Dumplings: Malfatti del Borgotaro

Malfatti belong to the mountain pantry.  Greens, fresh cheese, Parmigiano, butter, and a shape that is meant to look handmade because it is.  Even the name tells you not to chase perfection.  Malfatti translates to badly made, but it is said with affection, the way you describe food that comes from home kitchens, not polished for show.

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Across Northern Italy, versions of malfatti show up wherever families had greens, dairy, and a reason to stretch ingredients into something filling. In Lombardy, the dumplings often lean more bread and greens. In other homes they lean more ricotta. That is the point. This is not a dish with one official version. It is a technique and a mindset.

The Borgotaro name makes sense in that context. Borgo Val di Taro sits in a landscape that has always cooked from what the hills offer. Greens in season, dairy when you have it, cheese when you can afford it, and butter to finish because it makes everything feel whole. Whether it is an official designation or a local naming convention, the dish fits the place. It tastes like the Apennines.

Soft and tender, rich without being heavy, and deeply satisfying in a way that feels almost quiet. They eat like gnocchi in function, but the flavor is closer to a ravioli filling. Butter and Parmigiano is all they need. Sage is optional, but it is the classic companion.

Malfatti del Borgotaro with Swiss Chard

(about 5 to 6 servings - 80 dumplings)

The Dumplings:

• 1.5 kilo raw Swiss chard (3.3 lbs.)

• 500 g whole milk ricotta (1.1 lbs.), well drained

• 180 g Parmigiano Reggiano (6.5 oz.), finely grated

• 2 large eggs

• 180 g finely ground breadcrumbs (6.5 oz.)

• a generous grating of fresh nutmeg

• salt & pepper, q.b.

• 2 Tbs. all purpose flour

The Sauce:

• 120 g butter (4 oz.)

• 10-12 sage leaves

Method

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Separate the leaves from the thickest stems. Blanch the leaves until fully wilted, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain well, then squeeze the chard as firmly as you can. Wrap it in a clean towel and wring again. Chop very finely.

• Put the chopped chard into a dry pan over low heat and stir for 3 to 5 minutes to drive off any lingering moisture. Let it cool completely.

• In a large bowl, combine the cooled chard, drained ricotta, Parmigiano, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Add 120 g breadcrumbs and mix well. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes so the breadcrumbs hydrate, then assess.

• You want a soft mixture that can hold a rough football like shape. If it still feels loose, add breadcrumbs in 20 to 30 g increments until it holds. Most batches land between 140 and 180 g, depending on how dry your chard and ricotta are.

• Only if it remains too wet after adding breadcrumbs, add 1 tablespoon flour at a time, mix, and reassess. Flour is a rescue, not the foundation.

• Before shaping the whole batch, poach one small test dumpling in boiling water. If it threatens to break, you need more breadcrumbs, not more flour.

• Lightly flour a tray and form loose loose ovals with lightly floured hands, but do not compress them. Mine were 15 g each and the recipe made about 80 dumplings.

• Bring a wide pot of salted water to a gentle simmer. Cook the malfatti a few at a time. When they float, give them 20 to 30 seconds more, then lift out with a slotted spoon.

• Melt the butter in a wide pan. Add sage if using and let it perfume the butter. Slide in the malfatti and turn them gently to coat. Serve immediately with more Parmigiano and black pepper.

Featured Wine

Orsolani Erbaluce di Caluso La Rustìa is the kind of white that can handle porcini and tomato without getting lost. The acidity keeps a tomato based sugo tasting bright instead of sweet or heavy, and Erbaluce’s slightly savory, mineral edge plays beautifully with mushrooms. It is clean, firm, and refreshing, which is exactly what you want when the plate is soft and earthy.

Erbaluce is the signature white grape of the Caluso area in northern Piedmont, in the Canavese hills near Turin, and it is prized for holding high acidity even at ripeness. That natural tension is why you see it made in multiple styles, dry, sparkling, and passito. Erbaluce di Caluso was established as a DOC in 1967 and was elevated to DOCG in 2010, which tells you how seriously the region takes this grape.

Orsolani is one of the names most closely associated with Erbaluce, and their own history begins in the late 1800s when Giovanni Orsolani returned from America and put down roots again in Canavese, building a life that combined hospitality and vineyards. “La Rustìa” is a local dialect reference that points to the ripest, sun roasted fruit and the strict selection behind the bottling, which fits the wine’s style. It is bright, structured, and purposeful, the kind of bottle that tastes like it comes from somewhere specific.

If you can not find an Erbaluce di Caluso, look for a Gavi, Verdicchio, Soave Classico or Vermentino.

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