Miacce — Buckwheat Crêpes of the Valle d'Aosta

Ingredients

• 200 g wheat flour
• 100 g buckwheat flour, grano saraceno
• 2 eggs
• 350 ml water, added gradually to a thin pancake consistency, slightly thinner than standard crêpe batter
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 20 g lard, or unsalted butter; for seasoning the ferro or pan
• To serve
• 150 g Fontina d'Aosta, sliced thin
• honey or jam, as alternative to Fontina

Method

1. 1
   Combine the wheat flour and buckwheat flour in a bowl with the salt, make a well, add the eggs, and beat them in. Add the water gradually, whisking continuously, so that no dry pockets of buckwheat survive to give you a gritty, uneven crêpe — the finished batter should run off the whisk in a fast, watery ribbon, not a slow coat. Rest for 20 minutes, which allows the flours to fully absorb the water and the batter to settle to its correct, perceptibly thin consistency.
2. 2
   Set the ferro per le miacce in the embers or directly over a gas flame and heat it until a drop of water sputters and vanishes immediately on contact, because only at that point will the iron sear the batter on contact and set it instantly into a thin, lacy disc rather than letting it seize, stick, and tear. If using a crêpe pan, bring it to the same high heat before proceeding. This is where the miaccia lives or dies: an under-heated iron cannot be corrected once the batter touches it. Brush one half of the ferro, or the pan, lightly with lard.
3. 3
   Pour a small ladleful of batter into one depression of the ferro and close it immediately, flipping it so the batter spreads across both halves simultaneously — closing quickly traps the steam and presses the batter into an even disc rather than a thick puddle on one side. Cook for 2–3 minutes on the first side; listen for the faint hiss of escaping steam and then silence, which tells you the miaccia has set and will release cleanly.
4. 4
   Flip the ferro and cook the second side for 2–3 minutes. Open the ferro: the miaccia should be lightly coloured with small brown spots at the edges, the edges themselves appearing slightly lacy and pulling just clear of the iron's rim, which confirms it is cooked through without being brittle. Remove and keep warm between two plates so the miaccia stays pliable enough to fold in the next step.
5. 5
   For the Fontina preparation, lay a thin slice of Fontina on one half of the warm miaccia and fold it over, then return it briefly to the closed ferro or pan for 30–40 seconds so the residual heat softens the cheese gently into the buckwheat rather than melting it too fast and sending it running out at the edges. The cheese should yield under gentle pressure without flowing; if it holds that point, the miaccia is ready to serve. For the sweet preparation, serve immediately with honey or jam.