Trofie
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Trofie
This is short, hand-made, twisted-shaped eggless pasta that is typical of Liguria, Northern Italy. It is typically served with pesto sauce. Traditionally the twist is made by a clever sleight of hand, but this method uses a wooden rod or skewer to make the process (relatively) foolproof.
Persons
4
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Wait Time
30 minutes
Total Time
40 minutes
Ingredients
- 100 g (3/4 cup) of flour per person. The best flour to use is durum wheat flour, but plain (all-purpose flour) works fine too.
- 50 ml of water per 100 g of flour. i.e. for 4 people, use 400 g (3 cups) of flour and 200 ml of water. So the proportion is always 2 parts of flour to one part of water, by weight.
Instructions
- Make a mound with the flour and make a large well in it (big enough for all the water). Pour the water into this well.
- Work the water and the flour together with a fork, beginning by adding the flour from just around the water little by little, until you have a smooth dough.
- As soon as you can (when the mixture is no longer sticky), use your hands.
- Knead the dough for ten to fifteen minutes, until it is smooth, firm, and quite elastic. Don’t skimp on the kneading or the dough will tear later.
- Leave to rest for 15-30 minutes wrapped in saran wrap (cling film) so it won't dry.
- After the dough has rested, unwrap it and divide the dough into four pieces with a knife.
- Roll one of the pieces on a board pressing down gently with your fingers (not your palms) until you get a snake-like shape the thickness of a finger.
- Cut the "snake" with a knife into ¼-inch pieces. Cut only about 10 of them at a time so that the dough won't dry in the process.
- Roll a piece out with your fingers (not your palms) until you have a short 2-inch long “spaghetti-like” shape.
- Sprinkle a little flour on the board and gently dust the small piece (so it won't stick).
- Roll the “spaghetti” around a wooden skewer making a wide spiral.
- Roll the skewer very gently on the board (don't apply too much pressure) until the pasta flattens a little.
- With your fingers, gently slide it off the skewer onto a cloth.
- Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
- Let the trofie dry for about an hour.
- Bring plenty of water to boil, add the salt and boil the trofie for about 10 minutes. Important: don’t stir the trofie for the first 3-4 minutes, otherwise they break up!
