Trofie is a pasta that originated in Liguria, from Golfo Paradiso, a strip of land in the Riviera di Levante including towns like Recco, Sori, and Camogli. Trofie is shaped by rolling a small piece of dough on a flat surface to form a short, round length of pasta with tapered ends, then twisting it to form the final shape.
Notes
Use any pasta shape that you have in the cupboard but this is traditionally made with Trofie. This comes from the Ligurian region as does the entire recipe!
As a shortcut, you can replace the making of the pesto with a 100gr-150gr jar of pesto sauce but do try to get a good quality one as this is the flavour that shines in the dish. It is superb made with homemade pesto which really is a very simple thing to make.
The dish
Serves 2 as a main meal, 3-4 as the pasta course in a menu
Ingredients
| 150gr | 1 small | Potato, peeled & cut into 1cm dice |
| 125gr | Green beans, washed, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces | |
| 250gr | Trofie or linguine pasta but any pasta shape will do | |
| 15gr | 1 tbl | Butter |
| 125gr | 1 recipe Pesto alla Genovese (below) or 100-150gr jar basil pesto | |
| Cheese, parmesan to serve |
Method
Put Bring 1 cup water to boil. Add salt to taste and add cubed potatoes. Boil for about 5 mins, add beans and continue to boil until the green beans and potatoes are cooked and the water has boiled away. You may need to add a bit more water. If any remains, just drain this off.
Set beans and potatoes aside and keep warm.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a generous amount of salt.Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 6-7 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain.
Put the potatoes, beans and pasta in a large bowl. Add the butter and pesto and stir to combine, adding a little of the pasta water as needed to loosen the mixture. Serve immediately, topped with grated parmesan cheese.
Pesto (if making)
| 3 cups | Basil leaves, tightly packed | |
| 2 medium cloves | Garlic, Fresh | |
| 2 tbl | Pine nuts | |
| Sea salt | ||
| 125gr | 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil |
| 3 tbl | Cheese, pecorino | |
| 3 tbl | Cheese, parmesan |
Put the basil, garlic, pine nuts, a pinch of salt, and 1-2 tablespoons of the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor or blender.
Start mixing, adding a little more olive oil if the ingredients don’t easily combine into a paste.
Stop the food processor, add the Pecorino and Parmesan, and continue processing until you obtain a smooth, creamy paste.
Transfer to a bowl and mix in the remaining olive oil.
Adjust seasoning with salt to taste.
Use immediately, or transfer to a seal-able container, cover the top with a thin layer of olive oil, which prevents it from discoloring, and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
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