Testaroli al pesto – skillet-cooked diamonds with basil sauce

Put all the flour and 3 g salt in a bowl. Gradually pour in 450 g water, whisking until the batter is smooth and pourable, without lumps, and a little thicker than thin crepe batter. Leave it on the counter while you make the pesto. Separately measure the remaining 30 g water, 2 g salt and the olive oil: 5 g for brushing the skillet and 60 g for the sauce.

Finely grate both cheeses. Put all the washed and dried fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic and 2 g salt in a small food processor. Add 60 g olive oil and pulse briefly, just until the ingredients are chopped; do not heat the sauce by processing it for too long. Stir in all the Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano, along with the remaining 30 g fresh water. Transfer all the pesto to a wide bowl in which you will later combine the dish.

Heat a nonstick skillet about 28 cm in diameter over medium heat. Brush on a thin layer of olive oil, using the measured 5 g across all four rounds. Stir the batter and pour in about one quarter, tilting the skillet to form an even round about 3–4 mm thick. Cook for 3–4 minutes, until the top is set and the underside is pale golden. Carefully flip with a wide spatula and cook for about another minute. Make the remaining three rounds in the same way, using all the batter. Do not dry them out until crisp.

Lay the cooked rounds flat on clean boards or large plates so they do not stick together. The first rounds can cool while the others cook; leave the last one for about 10 minutes, until it is comfortable to cut. Cut each round into strips about 4–5 cm wide, then diagonally into diamonds. Keep all the smaller pieces around the edges as well.

Toward the end of the cooling time, bring about 3 liters of separate, unsalted water to a boil in a large pot for softening the diamonds. This is not the water measured earlier for the batter and pesto. Have a slotted spoon and the bowl of prepared sauce ready. Divide the cut testaroli into two similar batches so the pieces have room in the pot.

When the water boils, turn off the heat and lower in the first batch of diamonds. Gently separate them with a spoon and leave them in the hot water for about 2–3 minutes, until soft and flexible. Do not continue cooking them over the heat. Lift out with a slotted spoon, letting the water drain away, and immediately combine with the pesto as described in the next step. Before the second batch, bring the same water back to a boil, turn off the heat and repeat the brief soak. Do not add the soaking water to the sauce.

Transfer each drained batch straight to the bowl of pesto and gently lift with a wide spoon so the sauce coats the diamonds without tearing them. After adding the second batch, scrape all the remaining sauce from the sides of the bowl and gently toss once more. Do not reheat the dish in the skillet, and do not rinse the testaroli; they should stay warm, soft and coated in green pesto.

Divide all the testaroli and all the pesto among four plates and serve immediately, while the diamonds are still soft and the basil is intensely fragrant. The cheeses, pine nuts and olive oil are already in the sauce, so the dish is ready to serve without further additions.