Last updated on October 30, 2023
Bavette, also called Linguine or Trenette, is a type of long pasta similar to spaghetti, typical from Liguria and Genoa. We are Italians and we make the classic recipe of bavette with basil pesto
Linguine is a type of Italian pasta that belongs to the so-called cucina bianca (white cuisine), traditional in the Liguria region and the city of Genoa.
Seen not very closely, linguine looks like spaghetti: so much so that I often confuse the two jars in which I store them.
It also has the same size and length as spaghetti, with one difference: linguine is a little crushed and flattened, and therefore has an oval section; while spaghetti has a perfectly round section.
It also has the same size and length as spaghetti, with one difference: linguine is a little crushed and flattened, and therefore has an oval section; while spaghetti has a perfectly round section.
Like the Italian gastronomy blog Gambero Rosso explains, bavette was originally made as a long pasta for soup.
Since bavette is a typical Ligurian type of pasta, it is often combined with fish, seafood and scampi sauces.
Another typical summer dish is linguine with cherry tomatoes and basil.
The most classic linguine recipe is with pesto, traditionally enriched with potatoes and green beans: we have prepared it in our pasta recipe book.
In this recipe we focus on cooking linguine, the subject of this page. After cooking, we combine the linguine with the pesto using the cooking water to make the sauce creamier: a classic recipe from Genoa..
We use dry linguine, the ones from the grocery store: they obviously have the advantage that they are not only available, but also have a long shelf life.
👉 Pasta is loved in Italy precisely because you can prepare it quickly: for this reason, dried pasta is the type of pasta that we eat most every day in Italy.
In our pasta recipe book we prepare linguine in a richer version with potatoes and green beans and the simple pesto that we make in five minutes.
| Ingredient image | Ingredient name | Cups | Grams | Ounces |
|
Linguine or bavette | 9.5 oz | 270 g | |
|
Basil Pesto | 6.3 oz | 180 g | |
|
Parmigiano cheese | 2.1 oz | 60 g |
In Italy we usually calculate 2.8 - 3.5 oz (80 - 100 grams) per portion of dried pasta for one person; 0.7 oz (20 grams) more for fresh pasta, which contains water and therefore weighs more.
In our recipe we are in the middle and indicate 3.2 oz (about 90 grams) as a single portion of linguine.
We used dried linguine from the brand De Cecco, which according to the package is al dente in 10 and ready for 12 minutes (but we cooked them a few minutes less, according to our taste).
Of course in Italy we have a rule about how much water and how much salt we should use to cook pasta.
Even for long pasta such as spaghetti and bavette we use approximately 1 US quart / 1 liter of cold water per 3.5 oz / 100 grams of pasta.
This amount of water is enough to cook the pasta without wasting it unnecessarily.
When the water boils, we add 0.35 oz / 10 g of coarse salt per quart / liter of water. An amount suitable for salting pasta, to be combined with sauces that are not too salty, such as pesto.
Pesto should not be heated, as this will attenuate the aroma of the basil.
To mix it with the linguine, we dilute the pesto with half a ladle of cooking water, hot and rich in starch: in this way we create a cream that mixes well with the pasta.
Pour cold water into a pot; for long pasta such as linguine and spaghetti we choose a large pot.
Heat over medium heat and cover the pot with the lid: this will bring the water to the boil faster.
When the water boils, add the coarse salt.
Wait until the water boils again and add the whole linguine. In Italy we never break linguine and spaghetti before cooking them because you can't easily roll them on a fork afterwards.
Simply dip one end of the linguine into the boiling water: within moments the pasta will bend and submerge itself in the water. Continue cooking on medium-low heat.
👉 Some (even in Italy!) add oil to the cooking water in the hope that it will help prevent the pasta from sticking.
However, this is not really effective, because the oil does not mix with water and simply floats.
To prevent the linguine from sticking, simply stir it with a spaghetti spoon as soon as you dip it into boiling water; also stir occasionally during cooking.
While cooking the linguine, and pasta in general, do not cover the pan with a lid, otherwise the cooking water will flow over the pan and end up on the heat.
While the pasta is cooking in the pot, pour the pesto into the center of a pan.
Do not heat the pesto: pesto contains basil and cheese, and when heated it loses its aroma and consistency.
Instead, add a ladle of cooking water, hot and rich in starch: this will turn the pesto into a creamy sauce to which we add the pasta.
In Italy we never trust the cooking time stated on the packaging; instead, we taste the linguine to understand its cooking status.
When the linguine is ready, turn off the heat and use a spaghetti spoon to transfer the linguine to the pan with the pesto.
This is the easiest and fastest way to drain the pasta and allows you to mix the sauce and pasta better before serving: the cooking water contains starch, which serves to make the sauce creamy.
You can also add half a ladleful of cooking water (which remains in the large pan) to further thin the sauce, but make sure it is not too runny.
Even though pesto already contains cheese, it is not customary in Italy to add grated Parmesan cheese to pesto pasta.
In our opinion, however, it depends on personal taste: to make the pesto tastier, especially the ready-made one, it makes sense to add grated Parmesan to taste, together with some pine nuts and basil leaves, in order to accentuate the flavor of the ingredients already contained in the pesto.
Your linguine with basil pesto is ready. Buon appetito! 🍝
In the restaurant in Italy, when you finish eating, the waiter will ask: 🔊 andava tutto bene? (was everything fine?)
In Italian -ette and -ine are diminutives (which we differentiate in different ways, a characteristic of Romance languages).
We use them a lot in the names of pasta: for example «linguine» literally means little tongues; «bavette» means small drool: words that indicate mouth watering.
Barilla goes further and even sells «bavettine», mixing two diminutives in the same word.
The Italian words we use on this page:
| 🔊 Linguine | Linguine |
| 🔊 Bavette | Bavette |
| 🔊 Trenette | Trenette |
| 🔊 Acquolina in bocca | Mouth watering |
Some Italian sites claim that trenette is different from bavette and linguine because they have a square cross-section, like spaghetti alla chitarra: we believe this is not true.
All these types of pasta have the shape of a flattened spaghetti with rounded corners; the difference between the three is more linguistic, depending on the place and use of the pasta: as pastasciutta, or as pasta in broth.
Source: part of my family is from Genoa.
👉 Linguine and bavette are not the only type of pasta from Liguria: penne also comes from Genoa, when Giovanni Battista Capurro in 1865 invented a machine that cuts pasta at an angle without crushing it.
Linguine is a type of long flat pasta that is highly appreciated both in Italy and abroad and is therefore produced by many Italian pasta brands - both major supermarket pasta brands and artisan pasta producers.
Outside Italy you can easily find them, produced by Barilla, De Cecco and La Molisana. Rummo makes gluten-free linguine.
On the packaging, Barilla also writes bavette in addition to linguine.
We frequently update our pages on Italian pasta with new classic and regional traditional recipes.
I am Italian from Trentino. I studied philosophy in Padua and worked for many years between Milan and Amsterdam in the field of media and culture.
Since 2021 I write on All Italian to practice foreign languages; meanwhile I share with you the customs and traditions of my country, and the recipes that I prepare at home.