It is the best known and most appreciated Ligurian pasta. Let's learn how to make it with our hands: three ingredients and a little manual skills are enough
It is one of the most famous dishes of all Liguria, although its origin dates back to a small village on the east coast of Genoa, Sori: le trofie they are a must try for anyone who loves pesto and fresh pasta. And like any type of fresh pasta, they can also be prepared at home. Do you want to try?
An ancient pasta
Trofie are a pasta that Ligurian women have always made at home, thanks to the fact that only three ingredients are needed to prepare them: water, semolina and salt. Once, their particular and elongated shape was obtained with a wooden knitting needle, along which a small piece of dough was rolled up and then crushed with the palm of the hand. Now the production is mostly industrial, with special machinery. Trying to make them at home gives, as always, a very special taste.
Semolina, not flour
The recipe for hand made trofie involves the use of semolina and not flour. But what is the difference between the two? And how do they recognize each other? The flour is the result of the grinding of soft wheat, while the semolina comes from the grinding of durum wheat. The first has a more rounded shape and a more crumbly consistency, while durum wheat has a more elongated shape and is, in fact, harder. The flours deriving from these two grains also show some differences: the first has a whiter color and is softer to the touch, the second instead has a more yellow color and is more grainy.
The recipe for homemade trofie
For 6 people: arrange 400 g of semolina on a fountain table, add a pinch of salt and as much water as you need to have a homogeneous and elastic mixture. Add it little by little. Then work the dough for ten minutes and then let it rest out of the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, covered with a cloth. Then detach some pieces the size of a marble and with the palm of your hand roll the pieces of dough on the pastry board, obtaining twisted dumplings, with the thinner ends of the central part. Throw them in a pot with boiling water and salt and let them cook for 4 minutes and then drain them, keeping a little cooking water, which you will need to dilute the pesto.
