Specialty from Tuscany: pancake pasta
Crazy about savory pancakes with cheese? Then this traditional Tuscan pasta is definitely for you. It isn’t even made with pasta, but with — yes, you read that right — pieces of pancake, followed by a generous grating of cheese on top. Mmmm.
This Tuscan pasta, made from pieces of pancake, is called testaroli. Just like with ‘regular’ pasta, the pancake pieces are boiled. They are then mixed with pieces of fresh basil and grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and there you have it: your pancake pasta.
The classic method
Traditionally, the batter is cooked in a testi, a large cast-iron pan. You cook the pancake on one side, then remove it from the pan and cut it into diamond-shaped pieces. Boil these pieces in hot water for a few minutes, and they’re ready to serve. In the video below, you can see the traditional method:
How to make it at home
But let’s be realistic: (almost) no one has such a large testi at home, of course. So Seriouseats figured out how to make testaroli at home in the tastiest way:
Make the pancake with a mixture of flour, water, baking powder and salt. Whisk it into a smooth batter and let it rest for 20 minutes. Instead of a testi, use a cast-iron frying pan and cook the pancake on the other side for a minute as well, so it gets a drier texture. Then boil the pancake pieces, but not for too long or they’ll become soggy.
Serve with a pesto sauce or traditionally with just cheese and fresh basil.
