trofie

This walnut sauce pasta is a traditional dish from Liguria in Northwest Italy. Although not as famous as pesto Genovese (basil pesto), walnut sauce is another delicious type of Ligurian pesto. It’s also just as easy to make!

Walnut Sauce Pasta Recipe from Liguria

200 g shelled walnuts (7 ounces)

200 ml milk (1 cup)

bread

garlic (peeled)

g pine nuts (1 ounces)

Parmigiano

extra virgin olive oil.

marjoram leaves

(for

black pepper. (to taste)

Put the shelled walnuts in a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse the walnuts, remove the skins by wiping with a cloth and pat the walnuts dry with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel  (this step is optional).

Break the bread into pieces, put it in a bowl and cover with the milk. When it is completely wet, drain and squeeze the milk out with your hands. Save the milk.

Put the drained bread in the blender/food processor along with the walnuts and the garlic. Pulse a few times until the walnuts are quite small. Add the parmigiano cheese, pine nuts and 2 pinches of salt. Pulse for about 20 seconds until the sauce becomes  a bit smooth.

Continue to pulse while adding olive oil a little at a time and the remaining milk from the bread as needed to obtain a thick creamy sauce. Store in a sealed container in the fridge until ready to use.

Make the walnut sauce

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When it boils add salt and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. My store-bought fresh trofie needed 9 minutes.

Before draining the pasta, water down the Ligurian walnut sauce with about ½ ladle of pasta cooking water in a pan large enough to hold the pasta too. Stir until the sauce becomes creamy and the right consistency. Also save a cup of the water to add later just in case your walnut sauce pasta seems dry.

Add the drained pasta to the sauce along with some fresh marjoram leaves, freshly ground black pepper , some pieces of walnuts and a little more grated parmigiano. Mix everything together well and serve immediately.

Finish and serve

Un classico della cucina ligure, le trofie al pesto prevedono di essere servite con patate e fagiolini: prova la mia collaudata ricetta!

Trofie al pesto con patate e fagiolini

Basilico

spicchi Aglio

60 g Parmigiano Reggiano

Pecorino

150 g Olio extravergine d'oliva

Pinoli

q.b. Sale

320 g Trofie fresche

g Patate

g Fagiolini

Trofie are a traditional pasta shape hailing from the comune of Sori on Italy’s Golfo Paradiso (Gulf of Paradise), in the western region of Liguria. Despite the close proximity of Sori to the west coast’s port city of Genova, trofie were not commonly found in Genova until the mid-20th century. The word trofie, pronounced trof·ee·eh, comes from the Ligurian word strufuggiâ, meaning ‘to rub’, which is a reference to how the dough is prepared. Trofie get their unique, twisted shape by rolling and rubbing on a wooden board.

How to Make Fresh Trofie

semolina flour or durum wheat flour

milliliters water

salt

On a clean marble or wooden work surface, pile your flour and pinch of salt into a mound.

Make a well in the centre of the mound large enough to contain the water.

Gradually add the flour to the water, slowly incorporating the flour from the sides of the well. As the mixture thickens, start using your hands with a scraper to continue incorporating the flour.

Clean the work surface of any excess flour or dough bits that never incorporated. Then lightly flour your clean work surface.

Knead the dough by pressing the heel of one hand into the ball, keeping your fingers high.

Press down on the dough while pushing it firmly away from you. The dough should stretch and roll under your hand to create a shell-like shape.

Turn the dough over, then press into the dough with your knuckles, one hand at a time. Continue kneading for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and springy to the touch.

Place the dough in a small bowl and cover with a tea towel or cling film.

Let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes at room temperature.

Divide your dough in half and cover one half so that it doesn't dry out. Cut a section from the remaining dough and roll it into a thin sausage shape, approximately 5mm thick. 

Cut the dough sausage into 2-3cm pieces. Then, take each piece and, using your palm, quickly roll it away from you diagonally on a wooden board.

The trofie should start at the centre of your palm and get rolled to the outside of your palm. This motion will create a delicate spiral in the pasta. If you are having difficulty with this motion, you can also roll the pasta down the base of your palm to your fingertips.

Repeat this until all of your dough is used up.

When you've finished shaping all of your trofie, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook your pasta in the water for 3-4 minutes.

Serve with a sauce of your choice. We recommend a delicious salsa di noci, or walnut pesto.

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Top 3 trofie recipes from across the web

The most viewed trofie recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Walnut Sauce Pasta Recipe from Ligu...

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How to Make Fresh Trofie

The most viewed trofie recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine