If you noticed in the early spring that we didn’t post for some time – it was because we went to Italy!  We were there for a big trip with Cyril’s extended family, and you can see a short documentary about it on YouTube.  During that time we were too busy sightseeing to post, but as you might imagine we came back with lots of Italian goodies.  One unusual food we brought home was testaroli, which we had never heard of before this trip.  No one’s quite sure if testaroli should count as a bread or a pasta – it’s made from a batter and is sold in the form of a thin disc, much like a flatbread, but it’s cooked by boiling and then served with a sauce, just like pasta.  And interestingly, it’s one of the oldest dishes from the region that still survives:  it comes from the Etruscans, who lived in Italy even before the Romans, and today it’s still eaten in the province of Liguria, on the northwest coast of Italy, often served with pesto because that’s the most common sauce in the area.

This testaroli came to us in a vacuum-sealed package so we could transport it home, which means we didn’t make it entirely from scratch.  But we did do some research on how to cook it up, and we’ll show you what we did below.  You can buy a disc of testaroli online for yourself, and from there it’s pretty easy.

You’ll need:

• A 400-gram testaroli disc
• Garlic
• Pine nuts
• 2 large bunches of basil
• Parmesan cheese
• Olive oil

First, if your testarolo comes to you all rolled up, like ours did, gently flatten it out into a circle.

Then cut the testarolo into diamond shapes that are about 2 inches on each side, like so:

Before you cook the testaroli you can make a simple pesto by placing all your basil leaves into a food processor, along with 1 1/2 cups of grated Parmesan, 4 garlic cloves, and 3/4 cup of olive oil.  Also measure out 4 tablespoons of pine nuts and toast them in a dry skillet for 3 minutes, just until they start to turn a golden brown.  Set aside about a tablespoon of the pine nuts, then once the rest have cooled down place them in the food processor as well and blend together until you have a pesto – you can add more olive oil by the tablespoon until you have a smooth sauce.

Now boil the testaroli in a pot of salted water for 5 minutes.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer them out of the water and into a large mixing bowl.  Add the pesto and gently stir to combine, using leftover cooking water as needed to help the sauce cling to each piece.

Serve up your testaroli topped with your extra pine nuts, plus some more Parmesan.

Honestly, the hardest part here is getting your hands on some testaroli – once you’ve accomplished that, all you need to do is cut it up, whip up a pesto, cook, and stir.  Then you’ve got yourself a dish that’s unique and also pretty ancient, and something that’s not really known outside of Italy.  And if you’re doubtful about all this, you’ll be happy to learn that the testaroli does turn nice and tender once you boil it, so it’s like eating flat pieces of pasta.  This was a fun new discovery for us, and we hope you’ll enjoy it like we did.