Pansoti con Salsa di Noci

Liguria's pot-bellied triangular pasta filled with wild greens, fresh curd, and marjoram, dressed with the cold walnut sauce of Genoa

Origin: Genoa & Liguria

From the journey of Marjoram.

Pansoti are named for their shape: pansa in the Genoese dialect is a belly, and the pasta, folded into plump triangles, is supposed to look pot-bellied. The filling is what makes them Ligurian. It is built on preboggion, a mixture of wild and garden greens gathered in the hills above the coast, borage, chard, wild chicory, dandelion, and whatever else the season offers, bound with prescinseua curd, egg, and Parmigiano, and scented with marjoram, which ties the bitter greens together. There is no meat in them, and they were the pasta of the lean days of the Catholic calendar. They are served with salsa di noci, the raw sauce of walnuts, garlic, bread soaked in milk, and olive oil, itself often perfumed with marjoram, so that the herb appears in the dish twice. The pairing is fixed: pansoti with any other sauce is thought of as a different dish. Preboggion cannot be bought outside Liguria, and the filling is honestly made with chard, spinach, and borage if it can be found, with a handful of rocket or dandelion for bitterness.

Ingredients

Pasta

400 g plain flour (tipo 00)
2 eggs
80 ml water, or dry white wine
1 pinch salt

Filling

600 g mixed greens (chard, borage, spinach, and a handful of dandelion or rocket)
250 g prescinseua, or ricotta mixed with 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
50 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1 egg
1 tbsp fresh marjoram leaves, chopped
0.5 tsp salt

To Serve

1 batch salsa di noci (walnut sauce)
1 sprig fresh marjoram, to finish

Method

Make a firm dough from the flour, eggs, water, and salt, knead for 10 minutes, wrap, and rest for 30 minutes.
Blanch the greens for 3 minutes, drain, squeeze completely dry, and chop finely. Mix with the curd, Parmigiano, egg, marjoram, and salt.
Roll the dough thin and cut into 7 cm squares. Put a teaspoon of filling on each, fold into a triangle, and press the edges firmly to seal.
Cook in plenty of salted boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes, until they float and the edges are tender.
Loosen the walnut sauce with a little of the pasta water, toss the drained pansoti in it gently, and finish with a few marjoram leaves.

Notes

The walnut sauce is given as a separate recipe in the atlas. Make it first; it improves as it stands. Pansoti are also served simply with melted butter and marjoram, though a Genoese would call that a second choice.

The Gastrographer

Name: Pansoti con Salsa di Noci
Prep time: 1 h 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Genoa & Liguria
Ingredients: 400 g plain flour (tipo 00); 2 eggs; 80 ml water, or dry white wine; 1 pinch salt; 600 g mixed greens (chard, borage, spinach, and a handful of dandelion or rocket); 250 g prescinseua, or ricotta mixed with 2 tbsp plain yoghurt; 50 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated; 1 egg; 1 tbsp fresh marjoram leaves, chopped; 0.5 tsp salt; 1 batch salsa di noci (walnut sauce); 1 sprig fresh marjoram, to finish

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control