TABLE OF CONTENTS
Best Ligurian Pasta Variety Types
The name of this flat, thin Italian pasta variety translates literally as “little tongues”. It is also known as trenette or bavette in Italy. Linguine is made from durum wheat flour and water, and it is typically served as pastasciutta with the traditional Ligurian sauces.
It is sometimes boiled together with potatoes and green beans and served with pesto alla genovese, and it is also often paired with fish-based sauces. On Lipari, in the Sicilian archipelago, linguine is traditionally served with tuna and capers. A truly versatile pasta, it can be used in a vast number of dishes, and its flexibility has made it one of the most popular types of pasta in Italy and abroad.
THE BEST Linguine Pasta Varieties
Trofie is a handmade pasta variety from Liguria, dating back to the times of the Crusades. It is traditionally made with durum wheat flour and water, then shaped by rolling a tiny piece of dough on a flat surface. The dough is then twisted to develop its final shape.
Trofie is usually served with pesto sauce, and it is believed that the pasta got its name from the word strufuggiâ, meaning to rub, referring to the method of production.
Trenette is a variety of long Italian pasta that is similar to linguine, but somewhat thinner and narrower. It can be bought in dried form, either straight or curled into nests. This pasta variety is a specialty of the Genoa region, where it is traditionally served with pesto in a dish called trenette al pesto, although it can also be paired with other ingredients, such as seafood.
Bavette is a variety of Italian pasta that is prepared in the same way as tagliatelle, but the dough is much narrower, like a flat spaghetti. It consists of durum wheat flour and water. Their slightly convex shape is ideal hor holding different types of sauces.
It is recommended to pair bavette with pesto and vegetable sauces.
Pansotti is a type of Italian stuffed pasta made with flour, white wine, eggs, and salt. This pasta type was invented as an alternative to the famous ravioli. Pansoti are usually triangular in shape and filled with wild herbs from the Ligurian countryside such as borage and chard.
The name pansotti is derived from the word pancia, meaning belly, referring to their pot-belly shape.
Croxetti is a unique and unusual Italian pasta variety that is traditionally produced in the region of Liguria. The pasta is presented as wide, flat discs that are stamped with various decorative designs, patterns, and symbols, although croxetti were mostly stamped with aristocratic coats of arms in the past.
The ridges on croxetti's surface serve a special purpose – they allow various sauces to cling on to it. This pasta is quite versatile, so it can be paired with anything from meat sauces, nut sauces, and pesto to fish sauces, light cream sauces, butter, and fresh herbs.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Tacui is a traditional type of pasta originating from Liguria. The pasta is usually made with a combination of chestnut flour, wheat flour, water, and salt. The ingredients are kneaded with lukewarm water into a smooth and firm dough that’s left to rest.
After a while, the dough is rolled out and cut into diamond (lozenge) shapes. The pasta is boiled in salted water, and it’s then typically served with a pesto of basil, walnuts, and marjoram. In the past, wheat flour was expensive, so the locals used chestnut flour because chestnuts are abundant in the mountains surrounding Liguria.
Mandilli de sea is a traditional pasta variety originating from Liguria. The pasta is usually made with a combination of flour, salt, eggs, and lukewarm water. Once firm, smooth, and rested, the dough is rolled into a thin sheet, and the sheet is cut into squares that are boiled in salted water.
Mandilli de sea are traditionally served with the famous Ligurian pesto. The name of the pasta means silk handkerchiefs, referring to the thin and almost transparent texture of the pasta.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Battolli is a traditional pasta variety originating from Liguria, especially the town of Uscio in the province of Genoa. It consists of of wheat flour, chestnut flour, water, and (often) eggs. The mixture of flours is kneaded with water and sometimes eggs, and it's then left to rest.
The dough is rolled out into a sheet which is cut into flat noodles. The noodles are traditionally boiled in water or milk. This pasta variety was designed to hold the textures and flavors of pesto genovese. It's also often served with navoni, white turnips from the nearby Recco.
Picagge is a Ligurian pasta variety similar to the more famous tagliatelle, most commonly associated with Genoa. Due to the addition of water in the dough, they are softer and less elastic than the usual pasta all'uovo.
Picagge can be white or green (flavored with chard, marjoram, or borage), but there is also a version made with chestnut flour. Pesto Genovese is considered to be the best condiment for piccage, but not just any pesto – only the basil from Prà should be used.
There is even a saying: "Se il basilico è foresto, di sicuro non è pesto!", claiming that if the basil comes from anywhere else, it surely cannot be called pesto.
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