Tuscan pici pasta all'etrusca with roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes
A delicious pesto pasta type recipe from Tuscany with roasted fresh asparagus and cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
- 400 g pici pasta
- 2 eggs hard boiled and peeled
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- ½ handful fresh mint
- extra virgin olive oil
- 50 g pecorino grated
For roasted asparagus and tomatoes
- 500 g green asparagus
- 20 cherry tomatoes ( I used pacchino)
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- extra virgin olive oil.
Instructions
- Hard boil the eggs, cool them in cold water and peel them. Cut the peeled eggs in half lengthwise. Remove one yolk and keep it aside.
- Boil some water in a saucepan for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.
- Add the pici to the boiling water and cook al dente according to the instructions on the packet. Dried pici can take up to 18 minutes to cook. Save some of the cooking water before draining the pasta.
- Meanwhile, put the peeled garlic cloves, the egg whites and one yolk, the basil, parsley and mint leaves, grated pecorino cheese and a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil in a blender. Pulse a few times until the ingredients form a rough sauce. You may need to add more olive oil if it’s too dry.
- Add some ground pepper and salt to taste.
- Put the egg and herb mixture in a large bowl and add a little of the pasta cooking water to make it looser.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Mix well and serve immediately with the remaining egg yolk crumbled on top and a sprinkling of pecorino and parsley.
Roasting asparagus and cherry tomatoes
- Wash the asparagus and tomatoes. Cut off the hard part at the bottom of the asparagus stalk. This is best done by bending the stalk until it breaks. It normally breaks in the right place!
- Put the veggies in an oven dish with 3 whole peeled garlic cloves and some olive oil and roast them for about 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180°. (this can be done while the pasta is cooking)
- Serve with the Tuscan pici pasta all'etrusca.
Notes
If you can’t find pici and don’t want to make it yourself, this recipe can be made with other types of long pasta. I would suggest a thick spaghetti or bigoli, or perhaps even linguine.
Nutrition
Calories: 499kcalCarbohydrates: 85gProtein: 24gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 201mgPotassium: 730mgFiber: 7gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1664IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 217mgIron: 5mg
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michele says
Another solid hit. This is such a nice pesto, and I am intrigued how mint pops up in Italian recipes, and adds an interesting twist and depth of flavour. I didn't know about this until I started cooking things from this site. Now my major dilemma is whether to prepare more pici for the remainder of the pesto (I made a whole recipe of the pesto but only one serving of the pici), or to use it on crostini with sliced red radishes on top, or perhaps an anchovy, or even some black olives. So many possibilities!! Thank you Jacqui.
Kay says
I made Pici and a wild boar ragu
And happy that I have extra pasta to try this amazing sounding combination
Aamh1937@gmail.com says
Sounds great must try it out on our Italian guest from Torino next week
Beth says
Oh, I love the fact that this pesto is made with hard boiled eggs! Of course, we love carbonara, which I probably didn't spell right in the US! My family will totally love this! As always, I love the history you give us on the origins of pasta!! Thanks!
admin says
Grazie Beth. I think the eggs work so well in this pesto. They give it a creamy consistency. I hope you'll try it and let me know what you think! All the best. Jacqui
Angela says
I love learning about the different types of pasta dishes your share. This one is new to me. It sounds very flavorful with the fresh herbs and roasted veggies!
admin says
Thanks so much Angela! I love cooking all these pasta dishes and sharing them here. This is an an unusual pesto but very tasty. Def worth trying! Greetings from Verona. Jacqui
Arjhon says
I love how healthy this recipe is. We are pasta lover and definitely trying this. I like the herb mixture in it, we never tried it yet on our pasta meals.
admin says
Thank you Arjhon! Yes this is a pretty healthy way to eat pasta, just hard boiled eggs and raw ingredients. I'm sure you'll love it if you try it. Regards Jacqui!