Authentic Ligurian Trofie Pasta by Hand with Fresh Pesto

Fresh pasta con pesto has long-been probably my favorite food in the entire world. Seriously.

If you visit the Liguria region of Italy, you’ll get the opportunity to experience pesto in its birthplace, and it will almost always be served with the traditional trofie pasta.

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.”

~ Federico Fellini

I’ve talked about this more in my post on the food of Cinque Terre (one of my favorite places in the world!) but every time I visit those tiny fishing villages I look forward to gorging myself on platter after platter of trofie pasta with pesto.

If you haven’t made your own pasta before, it might seem kind of fussy and intimidating. But this Ligurian trofie pasta is really very easy, without dealing with eggs or any special equipment. All you need is a couple ingredients and your two hands!

It would even be a great activity with kids, or just a few extra people since the work will go much quicker and you can easily chat while you work.

Place the flour and salt in a bowl and add 3/4 cup water to start. Use a fork and mix together, adding the rest of the water as needed to create a rough dough. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to knead the dough, adding a little additional flour as needed until you create a smooth, non-sticky dough.

Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. This allows the gluten in the dough to relax, which will make it easier to work with and shape.

Set out a couple of large baking trays. Once the dough has rested, break off about a quarter of it and then re-wrap the rest. On a VERY lightly floured surface, use your hands to roll the dough into a tube about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch around. You only want the dough floured enough so it doesn’t stick.

Use a sharp knife and cut the tube into 1/4-inch pieces. Sprinkle the pillows with flour and begin shaping with your hands.

To shape the trofie, take a lightly floured piece of dough and rub it briskly between the palms of your hands to create a little tube with tapered ends (I find it works best when I get it in the crevice between my palm and fingers). You should only need to roll your hands back and forth three or four times to create each piece.

Place the shaped dough onto your baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Use your trofie within a two-hour period or refrigerate until ready to use.

You can make the pesto sauce shortly before you’re ready to cook them. You can see my detailed instructions here, this is my host mom’s traditional Ligurian pesto from when I studied abroad in Italy.

Put the fresh basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and salt in a food processor, and drizzle on olive oil, then blend until it becomes a smooth(ish) paste. Add more olive oil as needed to get the right consistency. Taste to make sure the balance of flavors and saltiness is right.

Put your pesto sauce in a large bowl with a couple small pats of butter and some extra pine nuts and parmesan. Set aside until the pasta’s cooked.

When ready to cook your trofie pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a handful of salt, and drop in all the trofie. If you’re cooking them within an hour of rolling the trofie, they will only take a few minutes to cook “al dente”. Once cooked, retain a small cup of pasta water and drain the rest.

Pour in the drained pasta and toss to coat, adding a little of the pasta water if needed to help thin the sauce and coat the pasta.

I mean, just look at that handmade pasta goodness!

No fancy ingredients or crazy machines…and yet this Ligurian trofie pasta feels so special! I love to relax on a Friday evening, pour a glass of wine, and take my time rolling the pieces and then dousing them in my amazing pesto. THAT is the way to start a weekend!

Other Italian classics you’ll love:

Giovanna’s Pasta con Pesto
Traditional Authentic Tiramisu (also Giovanna’s!)
Traditional Tuscan Pasta with Walnut Sauce & Rocket
Grilled Naples-Style Margherita Pizza
Risotto Primavera

Hand-Made Ligurian Trofie Pasta with Pesto

For the trofie pasta

2 1/2 cups of flour (see notes)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
3/4 to 1 cup of water

For the pesto sauce (see my in-depth recipe & instructions here)

Giant handful or two of fresh basil leaves
Handful of pine nuts
Grated Parmesan cheese (around 1/4 cup)
Tablespoon or two of sea salt
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
Around 1/4 cup of olive oil
16 ounces of dry pasta (something twisty like fusili/rotini is best)
Optional: a few fresh green beans & small red potato

Place the flour and salt in a bowl and add 3/4 cup water to start. Use a fork and mix together, adding the rest of the water as needed to create a rough dough.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to knead the dough, adding a little additional flour as needed until you create a smooth, non-sticky dough.
Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. This allows the gluten in the dough to relax, which will make it easier to work with and shape.
Set out a couple of large baking trays. Once the dough has rested, break off about a quarter of it and then re-wrap the rest. On a VERY lightly floured surface, use your hands to roll the dough into a tube about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch around. You only want the dough floured enough so it doesn’t stick.
Use a sharp knife and cut the tube into 1/4-inch pieces. Sprinkle the pillows with flour and begin shaping with your hands.
To shape the trofie, take a lightly floured piece of dough and rub it briskly between the palms of your hands to create a little tube with tapered ends (I find it works best when I get it in the crevice between my palm and fingers). You should only need to roll your hands back and forth three or four times to create each piece. Place the shaped dough onto your baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Use your trofie within a two-hour period or refrigerate until ready to use.
You can make the pesto sauce shortly before you’re ready to cook them. Put the fresh basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and salt in a food processor, and drizzle on olive oil, then blend until it becomes a smooth(ish) paste. See my detailed instructions here. Add more olive oil as needed to get the right consistency. Taste to make sure the balance of flavors and saltiness is right.
When ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a handful of salt, and drop in all the trofie. If you’re cooking them within an hour of rolling the trofie, they will only take a few minutes to cook “al dente”. Once cooked, retain a small cup of pasta water and drain the rest.
Put your pesto sauce in a large bowl with a couple small pats of butter and some extra pine nuts and parmesan. Pour in the drained trofie and toss to coat, adding a little of the pasta water if needed to help thin the sauce and coat the pasta.

Notes:

In terms of flour, I’ve tried all semolina, 50/50 all-purpose and semolina, and entirely all-purpose flour. Personally I prefer entirely all-purpose, and would definitely NOT recommend all semolina. I still want to try 00 at some point.

Adapted from Italian Food Forever

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