And here we are for the second installment of my pasta series. This time I moved to Liguria and I made trofie. Trofie are typically served with the staple of every Ligurian home: pesto.
Trofie are easy to shape and little ones could lend a hand in the shaping process if they like it. All you really have to do is roll the dough between your fingers. But trofie are also relatively hard to cook. Meaning if they dry out too long they take forever to cook. So my advice is to make them as thin as you can and to not let them sit forever before cooking. A couple of hours should be more of enough drying time.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb semolina flour
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 large bung basil
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan
- 1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small garlic clove
- salt
Trofie
Sauce
Directions
- Place the semolina on a table and create a large well in the middle of the semolina flour. Pour the warm water in the well and quickly mix in the flour. The dough will rapidly come together in a smooth and relatively tough mass. Knead the dough until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough looks smooth. Place the dough under a bowl for 10 minutes or so to rest so that the gluten can relax.
- While the dough is resting set up your work station. Place a large wooden board on the table, get a table knife and get a couple of cookies cooling rack that you will use for drying the pasta. If you don't have the cooling racks, you can use a couple of kitchen towels.
- Get a small portion, about 1/10th, of the dough and roll it into a long narrow roll, about as thick as a finger. keep the rest of the dough under the bowl. Now you are ready to start shaping the trofie.
- With a knife cut a small pea sized piece of dough. Roll the pasta dough between your hands and then on the surface of the wooden board to get a thin log of pasta with gooves and thin ends as the ones in the picture. See the video below, is much easier done than said.
- Place the shaped trofie to dry on a cooling rack or on a kitchen towel for about 2 hour. Don't let dry too long or you will have to cook the pasta forever.
- The traditional way of preparing trofie is with pesto. Blend a big bunch of basil with parmesan, pine nuts and a very small garlic glove. Keep blending and add enough oil to get a smooth paste. Add salt to taste.
- Cook the trofie in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. If you want to make this pasta dish more substantial, you can boil the pasta with diced potatoes and green beans. After draining add the pesto, using some of the pasta water to thin it out.
Trofie
Sauce
I am sharing this recipe with the PastaLove bloghop! Check out other great pasta dishes!
Hi! I'm PolaM, the Italian cooking in the Midwest.
Looks great – I’ve never made this shape of pasta before but now I think I will have to try it! Bookmarking this one.
K-bobo @ Gormandize with A-dizzle & K-bobo recently posted..Easy Basil Vodka Pasta
Ciao Paola, grazie di essere passata da me! Brava, continui la tradizione della cucina italiana anche nel paese in cui ti trovi (anche se non ho mica capito bene dove vivi…)! Ciao!
Sono nel midwest degli stati uniti, vicino ai grandi laghi. In pratica in mezzo al nulla
I’m in love! That’s all I can say! True LOVE!
Georgie recently posted..A Director and a Cake
I have not tried trofie as pasta and would like to, one day.
tigerfish recently posted..Seaweed Infused Five-Spice Soy Tofu 自制香味豆干
What a fun pasta to make, kids would love to do this. The pesto looks wonderful, great flavors here.
Suzanne recently posted..Strawberry Kiwi & Lime Frozen Yogurt and Blog Awards
Not a big fan of pasta, but this one is an exception, would love to make it someday..
Mat Slair recently posted..The truth about review sites
I love homemade pasta but rarely have the patience to do it myself. These look so delicious and light. Great post.
Dara recently posted..Baked Coconut Chicken Fingers with Pineapple Sauce
I’ve never had trofie, but I bet it would be amazing with fresh pesto!
Tiffany recently posted..Red Lentils-Red Quinoa Burgers
As a lover of good pesto, I would love to try this recipe out. I’ll try to make room for these in next week’s menu.
Cassidy recently posted..disneyland discounts
I love your video again (and I wish I know what you were watching on TV – hehee)! Seriously you make pasta super easily! No machine just your hands. I LOVE that.
Nami | Just One Cookbook recently posted..Cantonese Steamed Fish | Lemongrass & Ginger Cookbook Giveaways
Love the picture of all those little trofie drying on the rack…and when it comes to home made pesto, this is a dish after my heart!
Anna @ the shady pine recently posted..Petit pois and turning leaves
Home made pasta is uncomparable. I love this simple yet tasty meal especially now that summer has come in Greece quite soon and temperatures are high for this time of the year. A plate like this would satisfy my need for a good quality meal and at the same time would be a great choice for a light lunch or dinner!
Katerina recently posted..Vegetable and Feta Cheese Tart
It’s really amazing that one can make pasta with just flour and water. If you think I have lots of patience, yours exceeds mine by a factor of magnitude rolling these. I’m really tempted to try it nonetheless!
Kat recently posted..Mozzarella Stuffed Tomato Appetizers
I love the simplicity of this pasta plus the fact that they’re made with just semolina and water. I’ll try this for sure!
Magda | My Little Expat Kitchen recently posted..Purslane, anyone?
adoro questa pasta gnammm io il pesto lo metterei dappertutto
mamma papera recently posted..Focaccia pugliese
Anche a me piace molto! E con le trofie fatte in casa…..
I LOVE a nice bowl of pasta coated in pesto, your sauce looks amazing!
Jessica @ Cajunlicious recently posted..Red Chile Gravy Shrimp Enchiladas for Cinco de Mayo
What a fun pasta shape!! Looks like a perfect Sunday dinner.
Ramona recently posted..Sunflower Butter with Honey
This looks totally mouth watering. I am going to make these for dinner tonight. Thanks for sharing these cute little pastas and showing has easy they can be to make. Delish!
Suzi recently posted..Asparagus Stuffed Artichokes
Wow this is something new, I never seen pasta like that. I am learning a lot here
Raymund recently posted..Cincau Drink and Micheal Jackson
Why did it never occur to me to make my own trofie? Brilliant! Thanks Pola
Nuts about food recently posted..A trip down memory lane
These are so simple to do! I had no idea, I’ll definitely make these instead of buying them
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella recently posted..Haute Couture Dress Cookies
This looks so delicious. I’d love a big bowl of it!
Anita at Hungry Couple recently posted..Blue Margarita
sei stata bravissima Pola, sono riuscite una meraviglia! buona settimana, oggi anche io ho pubblicato una ricetta di pasta…
Chiara recently posted..Spaghetti alla carbonara primaverile
Che delizia. This is melt in your mouth pasta, made to perfection with an incredible sauce. I love it!