TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
CajettesCajettes: Piedmontese Potato and Rye Dumplings
- Total
- 2 hr 55 min
- Difficulty
- ★★★☆☆
- Serves
- 6 servings
- Prep 50 min
- Cook 1 hr 5 min
- Rest 1 hr
Small Piedmontese dumplings made with raw potatoes and rye flour. Spinach and Toma cheese are mixed into the dough, then the dumplings are layered with butter-sautéed onions and baked beneath a toasted breadcrumb topping.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
This is the standard recipe, exactly as it’s made where it comes from — the highest Authenticity Score possible. Substituting ingredients changes this score; the app shows exactly how, ingredient by ingredient.
Ingredients (6 servings)
100Authenticity- Russet potatoes1000 gWeight after peeling Use floury russet potatoes; peel and weigh as directed.
- Finely ground whole-grain rye flour270 g250g for the dough and 20g for dusting
- Spinach200 gWeight after removing the roots
- Toma Piemontese DOP cheese130 gSemihard cow’s-milk cheese; 80 g for the dough and 50 g for the topping
- Egg1 eggUse an egg weighing at least 58g and less than 64g including its shell.
- Egg yolk1 yolkTake the yolk from an egg weighing at least 58g and less than 64g including its shell.
- Onions600 gWeight after peeling
- Unsalted butter100 g70g for the onions, 5g for the baking dish and 25g for the topping
- Plain rye bread, dried for grating50 gUse plain rye bread without fruit, nuts or flavoring seeds. Before starting, dry several thin slices on a rack at 95°C (200°F), turning occasionally, until brittle throughout without browning; allow roughly 60–120 minutes, then cool for about 15 minutes. Weigh 50 g after drying and finely grate. If already dry and brittle, skip oven drying.
- Salt26 g5g for the dough, 1g for the onions and 20g for the boiling water
- Black pepper0.5 g
Method
Prepare breadcrumbs and squeeze the vegetables dry
- 1 Finely grate all the dry rye bread and set aside.
- 2 Trim and wash the spinach, boil for 1 minute, cool in cold water, squeeze dry and chop finely.
- 3 Peel and finely grate the potatoes, wrap in a cloth and squeeze out the liquid.
Ready when
Continue when water no longer drips from the spinach or potatoes.
Combine the dough with rye flour and eggs
- 1 Cut 80g Toma Piemontese into 5mm cubes.
- 2 Mix the potatoes, spinach, 80g Toma, 1 egg and 1 yolk in a bowl.
- 3 Add 250g whole-grain rye flour, 5g salt and 0.5g black pepper and mix evenly.
Ready when
Continue when no dry flour remains and the dough holds together.
Rest the dough
- 1 Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 60 minutes.
Ready when
Continue after 60 minutes.
Soften the onions in butter
- 1 Thinly slice the onions.
- 2 Melt 70g unsalted butter in a 28cm skillet and cook the onions with 1g salt over low heat for about 15 minutes. If the onions form a thick layer on the bottom, cook in halves, using half the butter and salt for each.
- 3 MeanwhileWhile cooking the onions, start bringing 2L water with 20g salt to a boil in a pot.
Ready when
Continue when the onions are soft and lightly colored.
Cut and boil the dumplings
- 1 Dust the work surface with 20g whole-grain rye flour. Roll the dough into logs 1.5cm across and cut into 1.5cm pieces.
- 2 Keep the boiling water at a gentle simmer and add batches of dough without overlapping. When they float, lift out with a slotted ladle; cook the rest in the same way.
Ready when
Continue when the dumplings float without falling apart.
Layer with onions and cheese
- 1 Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- 2 Grease a baking dish of at least 3L capacity with 5g unsalted butter. Alternate layers of boiled dumplings and cooked onions. Use more than one dish if necessary.
- 3 Grate the remaining 50g Toma and distribute all of it over the surface with the reserved rye breadcrumbs. Cut 25g unsalted butter into small pieces and put on top.
Ready when
Continue when the onions, breadcrumbs and cheese are evenly distributed over the dumplings.
Brown the topping and serve warm
- 1 Bake at 200°C for a total of 25 minutes. After 20 minutes, move the dish to the upper rack and brown the surface for the remaining 5 minutes.
- 2 If several dishes do not fit in the oven, bake 1 dish at a time at the same temperature and for the same duration.
- 3 Remove the baking dish, portion onto plates and serve warm.
Ready when
The dish is ready when the cheese has melted and the breadcrumbs are golden.
About this dish
In the mountain village of Rochemolles in Piedmont, cajettes are made by grating raw potatoes and combining them with rye flour. The small pieces of dough are boiled, then layered with onions and cheese and baked.
The village watermill that ground rye remained in operation until 1961. Its 2 millstones were used separately for rye and for fava beans and oats. The mill remains part of the visiting route of a museum that collects everyday objects and working tools.
The greens mixed into cajettes vary with the season. Young spring nettles, spinach and chard all appear in recipes. Other versions of the mountain dish use bread soaked in milk or larger spoonfuls of dough for boiling; cajettes vary between villages and households.
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