Make and rest the dough
01Mix a firm semolina dough.
Combine semolina and salt, then add warm water gradually and knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and firm.
The dough should be pliable without sticking to the board.
About Trofie al pesto
Trofie are among Liguria’s signature fresh pastas, shaped by rolling and dragging small pieces of dough so they twist into short tapered spirals. Regione Liguria notes their strong association with pesto and with the hand-rubbing movement behind the name.
This recipe keeps the focus on the pasta itself rather than repeating the separate Pesto alla genovese recipe already present in the Italy corpus. A measured batch of pesto is made or supplied cold, while the main technique is producing evenly sized trofie with enough surface texture to hold the sauce.
The dough contains durum wheat flour and water. It is firm enough to roll cleanly but must rest before shaping so the gluten relaxes. Each tiny piece is rolled under the palm and dragged lightly to create the characteristic twist instead of simply forming a worm-shaped noodle.
Pesto is not cooked in the finishing pan. Ligurian guidance treats both pesto and walnut sauce as condiments that should not be reheated directly; hot pasta water can loosen them. This protects basil aroma, cheese and olive oil from harsh heat.
The supplied photographs show trofie coated thickly in bright green pesto without obvious potatoes or green beans, so this selected version serves the pasta directly with pesto. Those vegetables remain a documented Ligurian variation rather than a mandatory element here.
