Carolina’s Pici Pasta
Carolina makes delicious pici pasta based on her grandmother’s recipe. This rustic pasta is like a thick spaghetti and provides a filling dish. Italian “00” flour is a very refined flour, while “0” flour is less refined, most like all-purpose flour.
I NGREDIENTS
2½ cups Italian “00” flour
1½ cups + 3 T. “0” flour
1 egg
Pinch of salt
2 cups tepid water
Extra-virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS
Put both flours together in a bowl. Mix gently with your hands.
Pour the flour on a clean work surface and make a little well in the middle.
Add the egg and salt to the well and mix, using a fork.
Begin adding the water, a little at a time, to the middle of the flour and mix, using
your hands.
Keep working with the water and your hands until the dough comes together.
You can then start kneading the dough until the dough is the right consistency (you
will see and feel this).
Roll the dough into a circle (keep it quite thick). Add a drizzle of olive oil to the top and massage it in gently to cover the entirety of the top with oil. Then cover the dough with either baking paper or plastic film, leaving it to rest for at least 30 minutes (if you are in a very warm environment, you might consider putting the dough in the fridge to rest). This can also be a time to make a sauce for the pasta.
When the dough has rested, slice off a little piece and start rolling into a wormlike shape using the palms of your hands. Roll and stretch each small piece of the dough to form long worm shapes (the pasta should look like long, thick spaghetti).
Pici is ready to cook immediately. Bring a pot of salted water to boil, add a bit of olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking, and add the pici pasta. Cook until al dente (slightly chewy), approximately 9 minutes.
YIELD: 6 servings
Aglione Sauce
Traditional aglione sauce in our area of Tuscany is made from the big garlic raised in the Val di Chiana, a type of elephant garlic, and is often served with pici pasta, and called pici all’aglione. Any pasta works with this simple sauce, and if you can’t locate elephant garlic, normal is fine.
INGREDIENTS
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 to 5 garlic cloves
2 cups canned, peeled Roma tomatoes
1/2 tsp. of sugar
1/8 tsp. of chili pepper flakes (depending on taste)
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 pound pici pasta, cooked (or spaghetti if you don’t have pici; time the cooking so the pasta is ready at the same time as the sauce)
Grated pecorino cheese
DIRECTIONS
Drizzle the olive oil in a pan or pot over medium heat and add the garlic. After the garlic sizzles and turns to golden brown, turn the pan to low heat and add the tomatoes.
Add sugar, chili flakes, and salt to taste. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Toss your favorite cooked pasta into the sauce and serve. Sprinkle the top with grated pecorino cheese.
YIELD: 6 servings
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