Name: Pansoti con salsa di noci
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Cuisine: Italian, Liguria
Ingredients: 400 g Italian 00 flour; 150 ml dry white wine; 80–110 ml water, add gradually as needed; 4 g fine sea salt; 350 g Swiss chard, stems trimmed; 250 g borage or additional chard, prebuggion if available; 180 g prescinseua or well-drained ricotta; 50 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated; 1 large egg; 1 g freshly grated nutmeg; 4 g fine sea salt; 180 g walnut kernels; 80 g soft white bread crumb; 100 ml whole milk or water, for soaking bread; 1 small garlic clove; 40 g prescinseua or ricotta; 30 g Parmigiano Reggiano; 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 3 g fine sea salt; 100–150 ml hot pasta water, for final consistency; 25 g walnuts, roughly chopped; 5 g fresh marjoram or parsley, optional

Pansoti con salsa di noci: wide hero view of plump Ligurian stuffed pasta coated in a pale walnut sauce, finished with walnut pieces and green herbs

Prep1 h 30 min

Cook20 minutes

Total2 h 20 min

Yield6 servings

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The dish

About Pansoti con salsa di noci

Regione Liguria describes pansoti as a traditional filled pasta of the Ligurian Levante, usually served with walnut sauce. Their name refers to the plump, “bellied” form, and the filling centres on borage and chard or the broader wild-herb mixture known as prebuggion.

The filling must be dry enough to stay inside thin pasta. The greens are briefly cooked, squeezed firmly and chopped before they meet prescinseua or a practical ricotta-and-yogurt substitute, egg and Parmigiano. Excess vegetable water is the most common cause of weak seams.

The dough is deliberately lean and can include white wine, as in Ligurian references. It is rolled thin and cut into squares, then folded around a small mound of filling. The exact household shape varies, but the parcel should remain compact and clearly swollen at the centre.

Walnut sauce is treated as an uncooked emulsion. Regione Liguria explicitly warns that salsa di noci should not be heated; at most it is loosened with hot pasta water and cheese. Bread crumb keeps the walnuts from releasing too much oil, while garlic, prescinseua and olive oil build the pale creamy body.

The verified photographs show pale stuffed pasta under a generous ivory walnut coating, with walnut pieces and herbs visible on top. That visual target is achieved by dressing the pansoti in a warm bowl rather than boiling the sauce.

Technique

Three things that matter

Squeeze the greens very dry. Water trapped in the filling weakens seams and dilutes the cheese.
Roll thin but seal decisively. Pansoti should feel delicate, yet trapped air must be pressed out before boiling.
Never boil the walnut sauce. Hot pasta water loosens the sauce while protecting walnut flavour and texture.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Pasta dough

400 gItalian 00 flour
150 mldry white wine
80–110 mlwateradd gradually as needed
4 gfine sea salt

Herb filling

350 gSwiss chardstems trimmed
250 gborage or additional chardprebuggion if available
180 gprescinseua or well-drained ricotta
50 gParmigiano Reggianofinely grated
1large egg
1 gfreshly grated nutmeg
4 gfine sea salt

Walnut sauce

180 gwalnut kernels
80 gsoft white bread crumb
100 mlwhole milk or waterfor soaking bread
1small garlic clove
40 gprescinseua or ricotta
30 gParmigiano Reggiano
60 mlextra-virgin olive oil
3 gfine sea salt
100–150 mlhot pasta waterfor final consistency

Finish

25 gwalnutsroughly chopped
5 gfresh marjoram or parsleyoptional

Step by step

Method

Make the filling and dough

Blanch and dry the herbs. Boil the chard and borage for about 5 minutes, drain, cool and squeeze firmly until very little water remains. Chop finely.
A squeezed handful should not release visible liquid.
Mix the herb filling. Combine greens, prescinseua, Parmigiano, egg, nutmeg and salt. Chill while the dough rests.
The filling should hold a spooned mound without spreading.
Knead and rest the dough. Mix flour, salt, wine and enough water for a smooth firm dough. Knead 8 minutes, cover and rest 30 minutes.
The rested dough should roll thin without shrinking aggressively.

Shape the pansoti

Roll thin sheets. Divide the dough and roll to about 0.8–1 mm, keeping unused dough covered.
The sheet should be thin enough to show a shadow through it without tearing.
Fill and seal. Cut squares about 8–9 cm, place a small mound of filling in each, fold into triangular or pouch-like parcels and press out trapped air before sealing.
The seam should be dry, clean and fully closed.

Make the walnut sauce

Soften the walnut and bread components. Blanch walnut kernels briefly if peeling them, and soak bread crumb in milk or water before squeezing.
The bread should be moist but not dripping.
Grind to a pale cream. Process walnuts, bread, garlic, prescinseua, Parmigiano, salt and olive oil until creamy but not completely oily-smooth.
The sauce should look pale and spoonable, with fine walnut texture.

Boil and dress

Cook gently. Boil the pansoti in lightly salted water for 4–6 minutes, working in batches if necessary. Reserve pasta water.
The pasta should be tender and the parcels intact.
Dress away from the flame. Loosen the walnut sauce in a warm bowl with hot pasta water, add drained pansoti and turn gently. Finish with chopped walnuts and optional herbs.
The sauce should coat the pasta generously without becoming hot enough to fry or split.

Practical guidance

Prescinseua substitute

Where Ligurian prescinseua is unavailable, well-drained ricotta loosened with a small amount of plain yogurt gives a similar fresh acidity, though it is not identical.

Wild herbs

Prebuggion varies by season. Borage and chard provide a reproducible baseline without pretending that one fixed herb mix defines every household.

Walnut sauce

Do not reheat it in a saucepan. Hot pasta and cooking water are enough to bring it to serving temperature.

Freezing

Uncooked pansoti can be frozen in one layer and transferred to a container once firm; boil from frozen and add a little extra time.

Troubleshooting

Pansoti burst in the pot. The filling was too wet, trapped air remained or the water boiled too violently.
The walnut sauce is bitter and oily. The walnuts were processed too aggressively or the sauce was heated; use bread crumb and stop once creamy.
The sauce is too thick. Add hot pasta water a tablespoon at a time in the serving bowl.
The filling tastes watery. Cooked greens were not squeezed thoroughly enough before mixing.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 5–6 pansoti with walnut sauce
Calories: approximately 690 kcal
Carbohydrates: 64 g
Protein: 23 g
Fat: 39 g
Fibre: 6 g
Sodium: approximately 780 mg

Walnut and cheese quantities make this a rich first course; exact values vary with prescinseua or ricotta choice.

Allergens and food safety

Contains wheat/gluten, eggs, milk and tree nuts (walnuts). Wine may contain sulfites.

Keep dairy-and-egg filling refrigerated until shaping and do not hold uncooked filled pasta at room temperature for extended periods.

Refrigerate leftovers promptly; walnut sauce is best fresh and should never be stored as a room-temperature garlic-in-oil mixture.

FAQ

What are pansoti filled with?

A Ligurian mixture of borage, chard or prebuggion with fresh curd cheese, egg and grated hard cheese.

Should walnut sauce be heated?

No. Ligurian guidance recommends loosening it with hot pasta water rather than heating it directly.

What can replace prescinseua?

Well-drained ricotta with a small amount of plain yogurt is a practical substitute, though the flavour is not identical.

Final note

What matters most

Result: Delicate plump herb-filled pasta under a pale, creamy walnut sauce with fresh walnut pieces and a subtle green-herb finish.
Key: Drive water from the greens, seal thin pasta carefully and keep the walnut sauce away from direct heat.

About Pansoti con salsa di noci

Three things that matter

Ingredients

Pasta dough

Herb filling

Walnut sauce

Finish

Method

Practical guidance

Prescinseua substitute

Wild herbs

Walnut sauce

Freezing

Troubleshooting

Nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

FAQ

What are pansoti filled with?

Should walnut sauce be heated?

What can replace prescinseua?

What matters most

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