Trofie (also known as trofiette) is one of the most overlooked pastas in the UK. We tend to favour the pasta more commonly found on supermarket shelves, such as penne, fusilli, spaghetti or perhaps farfalle for the more adventurous.
However, Trofie is a traditional shape of pasta, believed to originate in Sori, Liguria, a north-western region of Italy – also where Pesto was first created. This pasta is around 5cm long, thick twisted strands that remain quite chewy when cooked. Click here for Trofie pasta.
The shape and size of trofie pasta means that it holds sauces very well and particularly works great with chunky pasta sauces. As Pesto is the most traditional sauce to enjoy with this Ligurian pasta, we’ll start there, but that’s not all you can do with this fantastic twirly pasta.
Pesto
Trofie With Basil Pesto, Marscapone And Artichokes is a simple recipe, all you need to do is cook the trofie for 5 to 8 minutes. Whilst the pasta cooks heat a large pan and add the white wine. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half and then turn down the heat and add the mascarpone, Pesto, artichokes and most of the Parmesan. Once the pasta has cooked, add a tbsp of the cooking water to the sauce, drain the pasta and stir in the sauce and garnish with parmesan. In the Liguria region it’s also very common to eat this pasta with green beans and potatoes. Simply add the green beans and potatoes to the boiling water before the pasta, and then serve as normal.
- Jar of artichokes
- 300g fresh trofie
- 150ml white wine
- 2tbsp mascarpone
- 1/3 jar of Pesto
- 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
Walnut
This delicious, but light walnut sauce is probably the second most popular sauce for Trofie pasta after Pesto. It’s also incredibly simple to make, as you need to do is combine all of the ingredients below in a food processor and serve with a sprinkling of cheese. The end result should be a light but creamy sauce – if it’s too thick, add a little extra milk until it’s the right consistency.
- ½ clove of garlic
- 5 tablespoons walnuts
- ½ tablespoon parsley
- 1 slice of white bread, soaked in milk
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- Parmigiano Reggiano, thinly grated
Mushroom
Wild mushrooms are a passion in Italy, so after the traditional Pesto and walnut pasta sauces, it made sense to combine these trofie with another Italian staple. Again, this simple sauce doesn’t take a lot of effort. Sauté the shallots, garlic and some of the mushrooms in olive oil, as they start to brown add more of the mushrooms until they are sautéed to perfection. Add the cooked trofie pasta to your pan and hey presto! you have another quick and easy Italian dish.
- 300g of different wild mushrooms (e.g. shitake, oyster, mitake)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 3 shallots, diced
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