Trofie with Genovese pesto

01/11/2026

Basil pesto is, after tomato sauce, one of the most beloved and widely used pasta condiments in the world. When we think of pesto, we can't help but imagine it paired with trofie, a type of fresh pasta that, like pesto itself, has deep roots in Liguria.

Today, our Cesarina Veronica, straight from Loano, shows us how to prepare this perfect pairing, which combines flavor and tradition.

A curious anecdote that not everyone knows is that this sauce was already being made before the second half of the 19th century. At the time, it was prepared only with oil, a pinch of salt, garlic, and an abundance of basil!

The word pesto comes from the Italian verb pestare, meaning "to crush"—in this case, to grind the ingredients into a creamy sauce using a mortar and pestle. The original version of Genovese pesto is made by crushing the ingredients in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle, two symbols of Ligurian culinary tradition.

In Liguria, pesto is not just a simple condiment; it represents a cultural, identity-rooted, and traditional element, with family variations passed down from generation to generation, almost like secrets to be guarded within each household. Its importance in Ligurian cuisine is so great that every two years Genoa hosts the World Championship of Pesto Made with a Mortar.

Trofie, along with pesto, are the most iconic pasta format of Liguria, their region of origin. Made simply from flour and water (without eggs), their twisted shape, thin at the ends and thicker in the middle, makes them perfect for blending with pesto. Their particular structure is designed to capture and hold this flavorful sauce, resulting in a delicious first course, ideal for any occasion.

Trofie with Genovese pesto

The essence of Liguria: a perfect blend of tradition, simplicity, and taste

DifficultyEasy

Cooking time10m

Servings4

€

CostLow

Ingredients

For the pasta:
350 g flour
A pinch of salt
Water, as needed
For the pesto:
60 g Genovese basil leaves
4 tablespoons Italian pine nuts
4 cloves of Vessalico garlic
4 pinches of coarse salt
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons Sardinian pecorino fiore cheese
80 g Ligurian olive oil

Method

For the pasta:

Sift the flour onto a work surface, add a pinch of salt, and gradually add enough water to form a fairly firm dough.
After kneading the dough for about ten minutes, let it rest for half an hour.
Then pinch off small pieces about the size of a chickpea and, using the palm of your hand, rub them on the work surface to form the classic twisted shape, thin at the ends (the name trofie is believed to come from the Genoese dialect word strufuggia, meaning "to rub").

For the pesto:

To prepare Genovese pesto, use the traditional mortar; if you don’t have one, you can use a blender, making sure to chill the blades and container in the freezer beforehand.
Gently wash the basil leaves and let them dry on a cloth.
First, crush the garlic together with the coarse salt, which helps keep the basil’s bright green color vibrant.
Then crush the pine nuts, add the basil, and subsequently mix in the cheeses. Finally, add the olive oil.
The resulting sauce should be quite thick; when dressing the pasta, thin it out with a little bit of the pasta cooking water.
You can enrich the dish by adding small pieces of potato and green beans, a typical addition especially when preparing trenette pasta.