Baked Trofie with Walnuts, Speck, and Provola. Easy recipe for special occasions
A creamy and tasty first course, enriched with the flavor of speck and smoked provola.
It’s an easy first course that is prepared in no time, always pleases everyone, and makes an impression on occasions and special events like Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, Valentine’s Day, and other holidays. A dish that is not only tasty but also practical because it can be prepared in advance.
These baked trofie are listed among my “Top Recipes“, because they are delicious and easy to prepare. If you’re looking for tried-and-tested recipes that are flop-proof, search the Blog among my signature dishes in the dedicated Section: “My Top Recipes“.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 3 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 5 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Baked Trofie with Walnuts, Speck, and Provola:
- 2.2 lbs trofie (fresh)
- 1 quart béchamel sauce
- 0.5 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 7.8 oz walnut halves (shelled)
- 10.6 oz diced speck (the dice should be very small)
- 8.8 oz smoked provola (diced)
- 2 tbsp butter (for the béchamel)
- 0.7 oz coarse salt (for the pasta)
- to taste black peppercorns (ground)
- to taste nutmeg (optional)
- 1 tsp fine salt (for the béchamel)
- 2 tbsp butter (for the surface)
Tools for Baked Trofie with Walnuts, Speck, and Provola
- Food Processor mini
- Bowl
- Pot
- Colander
- Pan
- Baking Dish
Steps for Baked Trofie with Walnuts, Speck, and Provola
For convenience, I usually buy the béchamel sauce, but if you prefer to make it yourself and have the time, you can use my foolproof recipe by clicking here on “Foolproof Béchamel Sauce… all the secrets!!“.
Finely chop the shelled walnuts with the food processor or mixer. Dice the speck into very small pieces and the smoked provola into small cubes.
Heat the (store-bought) béchamel sauce with pepper, 1 tsp of salt, and nutmeg (optional).
Pour water into a large pot, bring to a boil, add about 0.7 oz of coarse salt and a splash of oil (to keep the trofie separate) and drop the pasta into the boiling water, as soon as the trofie rise to the surface, drain them (as you do with gnocchi), reserving a ladle of cooking water, they should be very al dente because they will finish cooking in the oven.
Take a saucepan or a pan, pour in the extra olive oil and sauté the speck over medium heat with pepper and a pinch of salt, then after 2 minutes add some of the chopped walnuts (4.2 oz), reserving the rest for later, and let everything flavor well.
In a bowl, heat the béchamel with 2 tablespoons of butter, pepper, 0.18 tsp of salt, and nutmeg.
Add to the saucepan with speck and walnuts the drained trofie and diced smoked provola, then also add 3/4 of the béchamel sauce (3 cups) and mix everything well over heat, adding a small ladle of pasta cooking water.
Take a baking dish, spread béchamel sauce well on the bottom, pour over the pasta mixture (seasoned in the pan with speck, walnuts, provola, pepper, and part of the béchamel) and cover everything with a uniform layer of béchamel (1 cup) the remaining 3.5 oz of chopped walnuts, and finally small knobs of butter (2 tbsp).
Place the baking dish in a pre-heated oven at 392°F for about 25 minutes, depending on your oven (you should end up with a golden crust).
Remove from oven and let the trofie rest for 3-4 minutes before serving.
If you want to make a double batch for 10 people, double all the ingredients, except the speck (use 17.6 oz) and trofie (3.3 lbs is sufficient).
Shopping Tips!!!
To quickly chop the walnuts, I recommend my handy mini food processor, mini format from Braun MultiQuick 7 Minipimer.
Read my review for GialloZafferano on the Minipimer “Braun MQ9045 MultiQuick 9“.
I also recommend this rectangular baking dish, also ideal for lasagna, in ceramic, scratch and cut resistant, this exceptional baking dish can be purchased on Amazon.
I also recommend this rectangular baking dish, also ideal for lasagna, in ceramic, scratch and cut resistant, this exceptional baking dish can be purchased on Amazon.
I also recommend this rectangular baking dish, also ideal for lasagna, in ceramic, scratch and cut resistant, this exceptional baking dish can be purchased on Amazon.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
How to tell if walnuts are good?
The walnut shells should have a uniform color. If the shells have spots or are too dark, it means the nuts might be oxidized or rancid.
