Food for Fort: On chillies, ring pulls and unusual pasta

Is there a UK source of pizzoccheri ? I used to visit the Valtellina region of Italy regularly, and really enjoy the local versions of the dish. As you've discovered, pizzoccheri isn't your common or garden pasta. It's made with buckwheat as well as 00 flour, so it has a certain heft. Pasta-lite it isn't, but it has a distinctive, nutty flavour to which the Valtellini like to add more heft in the form of potatoes, cabbage and butter. You don't have to go to Locanda Locatelli to enjoy them. Just head for Giacobazzi's Deli in London NW3 (020-7267 7222) or try Natoora . Almost every example you'll find here will be the excellent Il Saraceno brand. So many recipes feature chilli in some shape or form these days, which is no good for me because I'm seriously allergic to the stuff. Obviously, I could just leave it out, but what could I add to compensate for its omission? You're right, almost nothing now seems free of the chilli hit – I even came across some in a Yorkshire pudding the other day: is nothing sacred? – and there are thousands of chillies of all different shapes, flavour and levels of heat, but if you're allergic to them, you're allergic to them, and that's that. It's not really possible to find exact replacements in heat and flavour terms – the point of chilli is to bring interest to dishes that might otherwise be devoid of it: they're a quick flavour fix. If it's simple heat you're after, use black or white pepper (from a different plant species altogether), or Sichuan pepper, which is no relation of either and has a fine, fruity flavour and curious, tongue-numbing qualities. Or use horseradish, mustard (as in English mustard powder) or wasabi. And if you want to catch that unique fruit/heat combination, mash wasabi and ginger, a Japanese culinary trope. Or make your own spice mix without chilli powder. Am I alone in finding ring pulls on tinned food impossible? No, you are not alone. My mother used to complain endlessly about the very same thing, and these three gadgets just about passed muster with her – the Magipull ring pull opener, £2.49, from Lakeland , the Can Key, £3.19, from essentialaids.com , and the Betterlife One Pull Can Opener, £3.99, from betterlifehealthcare.com . • Got a culinary query for Matthew? Email [email protected]