Testaroli al pesto
Testaroli are a rather unique kind of pasta from Tuscany, made from crepes rather than a traditional dough. The crepes are cut into diamond shapes then boiled briefly before being tossed with vibrant pesto, or indeed any other sauce of your choosing. A simple and fantastically comforting dish.
One of the many delights hailing from the Lunigiana, testaroli get their name from the cast-iron pan in which they are cooked, the testo – a flat pan with two handles and a lid, originating from the Middle Ages and still very much in use in the area for all sorts of culinary preparations, from necci to roast lamb.
A dish of humble origins, it starts with a simple flour-and-water batter that’s first cooked in batches on the testo (or, at home, in a greased skillet) as if it were a large crepe. Then, these pancakes are cut into diamonds, which are plunged in boiling water before being tossed with the elected sauce.
Testaroli are classically seasoned with basil pesto (the local variant omits garlic, which I’ve shared below), though it’s not uncommon to find them simply drizzled with olive oil and topped with grated pecorino.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 600g of plain flour
- 500ml of water
- salt
Pesto
- 90g of basil leaves
- 20g of Parmesan, (use a similar cheese that uses vegetable rennet if serving to vegetarians)
- 1 tbsp of pine nuts
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 120ml of extra virgin olive oil, plus more for covering the pesto
Method
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