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pile of homemade busiate pasta on dish cloth
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Homemade Busiate Pasta Recipe

Busiate originate from the province of Trapani, located in the western part of Sicily. This telephone cord shaped pasta made of durum semolina flour is traditionally paired with pesto alla Trapanese. Learn to make homemade busiate pasta with my easy step by step instructions with images!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Sicilian-Italian
Keyword busiate pasta, telephone cord shaped pasta
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 7 minutes
Resting time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 7 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 378kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

For the dough

  • Place semolina flour in a bowl or in a mound directly on your work surface.  I prefer starting off my dough in a bowl and once the dough starts to take shape, I transfer it to my counter in order to knead it. Stir salt into the flour.
  • Bring 1 1/4 cups of water to a boil. Make a well in the center of the semolina and pour in 1 cup of boiled water.
  • Use a fork or wooden spoon to begin combining the semolina flour with the water. Use your hands to gather the crumbly bits to shape into a dough.  The dough will be very crumbly and grainy.
  • Transfer to a work surface and knead until a smooth dough is formed. This will take about 5 minutes. The dough must be neither sticky nor too dry and should feel slightly tacky. If it is too dry, add a spoonful of the remaining water at a time, as needed. Wrap in plastic wrap and set on your counter to rest for 1 hour.

To shape the busiate

  • Divide the dough into 8 pieces. It is easier to roll a smaller portion of dough at a time. Keep the remaining dough wrapped in order to prevent it from drying out.
  • Roll each piece of dough into a long rope of about 1/2 cm thick. Cut into 15 cm (6 inch) pieces.
  • Place the strip of dough in a vertical postion facing you. Place a skewer at the top end of the dough at a 45 degree angle facing downward. Wrap the tip of the dough around the skewer. Use your left hand (if right handed) to carefully roll the skewer toward you, coiling the dough around it as you roll.
  • Place the busiate on a parchment paper or dish cloth covered tray dusted with flour. Continue with the remaining dough.

To cook

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the busiate until al dente, about 5-7 minutes. This may vary according to the thickness of your dough.

Notes

 
  • If you're making busiate for the first time and rolling them is challenging (as it was for me!), cut smaller lengths of dough to make the rolling process easier.
  • When detaching the skewer from the rolled busiate, it may occasionally stick to it. Gently roll the skewer in the opposite direction in which you rolled the pasta to help slide it off.
  • Cooking time may vary according to the thickness of your busiate. I rolled my dough into very thin ropes of 1/2 cm diameter. If your ropes of dough are wider, this will result in a thicker pasta which will take longer to boil and will have a chewier texture.
  • Busiate can be frozen. Place the filled trays with busiate in a single layer in the freezer. Once they are completely frozen, transfer to a freezer bag and store up to 3 months.
  • Please note that that nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact ingredients used and portion size. 

Nutrition

Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 589mg | Potassium: 195mg | Fiber: 4g | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 5mg