Mandilli de Saea al Pesto
Silk handkerchief pasta is a traditional Genoese dish of paper-thin fresh egg pasta sheets layered with vibrant basil pesto.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 540 kcal
Equipment
- •Rolling pin or pasta machine
- •Large pot
- •Marble mortar and wooden pestle
- •Spider strainer
- •Pasta cutter wheel
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 540 kcal
- fat
- 26 g
- carbs
- 60 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 16 g
- calories
- 540 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Tip the flour onto a clean board and create a wide well in the centre.
- 2
Add the eggs, white wine, and a pinch of fine salt into the well.
- 3
Whisk the wet ingredients with a fork, gradually drawing in surrounding flour until a soft, rough dough forms.
- 4
Knead the dough firmly for ten minutes until it feels silky, elastic, and smooth.
- 5
Wrap the dough tightly in cling film and rest at room temperature for thirty minutes.
- 6
Pound the garlic, pine nuts, and coarse salt in a mortar until a smooth paste forms.
- 7
Add the basil leaves and grind against the mortar walls with gentle circular motions until bright green.
- 8
Stir in both grated cheeses and slowly trickle in the olive oil until creamy and well emulsified.
- 9
Roll the rested dough into translucent sheets thin enough to read newspaper through, then trim into fifteen-centimetre squares.
- 10
Drop the pasta sheets into salted boiling water and cook for two minutes until tender.
- 11
Lift sheets out gently with a spider strainer, layer loosely into warm bowls, and spoon pesto between folds.
Chef's tips
Roll the dough as thinly as humanly possible without tearing, as the delicate texture defines the dish. Do not heat the pesto; warm pasta cooking water loosened into the sauce will gently take off the chill without dulling the bright green colour.
Ingredient substitutions
- Pecorino Fiore Sardo PDO → Pecorino Romano or extra Parmigiano Reggiano
- dry white wine → cold water
Storage
Cooked mandilli must be eaten immediately; uncooked sheets can be dusted with semolina and refrigerated for up to one day.
Reheating
Reheating is not recommended as the fresh pesto oxidises and the pasta turns mushy.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Rolling the pasta too thickly, which turns the delicate handkerchiefs heavy and doughy.
- •Heating the pesto in a pan, which turns the basil dark brown and ruins the fresh aroma.
- •Overcrowding the boiling water, causing the wide pasta sheets to stick to each other.
Serving suggestions
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