Trofie al Pesto

Name: Trofie al Pesto
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 400 g trofie; 60 g basil leaves; 30 g pine nuts; 1 small garlic clove; 50 g grated parmesan; 20 g grated pecorino; 100 ml mild olive oil; 200 g potatoes; 150 g green beans; Coarse salt

Local name: Trofie al pesto

Ligurian trofie cooked with potato and green beans, coated in basil pesto pounded in a mortar.

Published on 7 April 2026·Updated on 10 September 2026

#pasta#pesto#basil#liguria#pine nuts

Photo: Pastalovers , CC BY-SA 4.0

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 35 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

Pound the garlic with a pinch of coarse salt in a mortar, add the pine nuts and work them to a paste.
Add the basil a handful at a time and crush it against the sides with a turning motion, never chopping, until you have a green purée.
Work in the cheeses, then trickle in the oil while stirring until the pesto is creamy.
Cut the potatoes into 1.5 cm cubes and the beans into short lengths, and drop them into boiling salted water.
After 5 minutes add the trofie to the same pan and cook for the time given on the packet.
Drain, saving a ladle of the water, then toss everything with the pesto off the heat, loosening with the reserved water until glossy.

In Liguria the potatoes and beans cook in the same water as the pasta, and their starch softens the pesto. Never add pesto over heat, or it loses both colour and perfume.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

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Nutrition per serving

Calories: 752 kcal
Protein: 21.5 g
Fat: 34.7 g
Carbohydrate: 89.7 g
Fibre: 5.8 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Why cook the potatoes and beans in the pasta water?

That is the Ligurian way. Starch from the potatoes enriches the water, which then softens the pesto and helps it coat everything. The vegetables get a five-minute head start so it all finishes together.

Why is the pesto never heated?

Over heat the basil blackens and loses its perfume, and the cheeses turn stringy. Toss it off the heat, in a bowl or in the pan once removed, loosening with a ladle of reserved cooking water until everything is coated.

Does the mortar really make a difference?

Yes. The basil is crushed by turning it against the wall rather than chopped, which releases the oils without bruising the leaves. A processor's blades heat and oxidise the basil, and the pesto darkens far sooner.

Italian vegetarian cooking, the cucina povera way
Why the everyday repertoire of the Italian countryside does without meat, how to bind a sauce with pasta water, and what stale bread can do.

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