Pesto with trofie pasta

We just had the good fortune of discovering a small food, cheese and wine shop in the Potrero Hill section of San Francisco where we were able to buy authentic trofie pasta from Italy. There are certainly other shops in the U.S. where trofie can be found, but we had been carrying ours back in our suitcases, buying it at Carlucci's in Covent Garden in London. So this was an important find! The trofie we purchased in San Francisco is Saporia di Liguri, from La Bella Angiolina, made in a facility near to the original location of the oldest pastificio in Italy (so they claim) in Savona, in the heart of the Ligurian Riviera.

Trofie, or troffiette, are thin strings of pasta, about one to two inches long, twisted into a corksrew shape.They are generally made with hard durum wheat flour, but can be made from all-purpose flour. Trofie or troffiette are frequently called Ligurian gnocchi.

They are a perfect pasta with pesto (as is trenette). Here is the recipe for simple trofie and pesto. The next posting will be for the other Ligurian staple, trenette or trofie, with pesto and string beans and potatoes.

for the pesto sauce:

• two cups fresh basil leaves
• one-half cup olive oil
• three cloves garlic, peeled and roughly diced
• two tablespoons pine nuts
• salt (a teaspoon or to taste)
• one-half cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• two tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino, either Romano or Tuscano
• two tablespoons butter

for the pasta:

• one pound of trofie (durum wheat preferred)

using a blender (pesto was traditionally made in a mortar with pestle but a blender works excellently), put in the basil and garlic and mix for a few seconds. Then add the pine nuts and olive oil and salt, and grind at a high speed until the sauce approaches being creamy (not too much, however, as a little roughness in the texture is wonderful).

When the blending is completed, transfer the sauce into a mixing bowl and stir in the two grated cheeses.

Cook the pasta in plenty of water, until it is al dente, stirring the pasta regularly.

Drain the pasta, and toss it with the pesto sauce. Add the butter and a tablespoon of hot water to assist in the tossing and mixing. Serve!