The renaiola pasta is a flavorful first course typical of the city of Pisa in Tuscany, where the taste of the sea meets the taste of the land. The pasta usually used are linguine or, even better, trenette; in earlier times this would be replaced with bread. The other ingredients are rapini (turnip greens), cherry tomatoes, marinated herring (once soaked in milk; here I used smoked herring), garlic and chili pepper. The name renaiola comes from “renaioli,” those who worked along the Arno river to transport sand.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 1 Serving
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Tuscany
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients
- 3 oz linguine (or trenette)
- 2 cups rapini (turnip greens) (cleaned)
- 2 oz cherry tomatoes (about 6)
- 2 oz smoked herring (or marinated)
- 1/2 glass dry white wine (a small amount)
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste red chili pepper (dried or fresh)
- to taste fine salt
- to taste black pepper
Tools
- Kitchen scale
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Frying pan
- Pot
- Colander
- Wooden spoon
Steps
To prepare renaiola pasta…
First, take the rapini, remove the intact green leaves, wash them and boil them in boiling water for 10 minutes.
While the rapini are cooking, wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half or into quarters.
Cut the smoked or marinated herring into pieces.
Put a pot of water on to heat for the pasta. When it boils, add the linguine and cook for the time indicated on the package.
While the pasta cooks, in a pan sauté a peeled whole garlic clove in extra virgin olive oil with the chili pepper and the cherry tomatoes.
Also add the herring, deglaze everything with the dry white wine and when it has evaporated, add the rapini—drained, squeezed and chopped.
Once the linguine are cooked, drain them keeping a little cooking water. Pour them into the pan with the sauce, add the reserved water and toss for a few minutes to let the flavors meld, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. Serve hot.
