Pici all'Aglione

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large wooden board for rolling
• •Large 12-inch skillet
• •Large pot for boiling pasta

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Mound the flour on a wooden board and make a well in the center. Add the warm water, olive oil, and salt to the well. Using a fork, gradually incorporate the flour from the inner walls of the well into the liquid, working outward. When the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a fork, use your hands. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be softer than egg pasta dough, yielding but not sticky. Wrap in plastic and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

   This is eggless pasta, the pasta of Tuscan peasants who could not afford eggs for everyday cooking. The water and oil create a different texture than northern egg pasta: more rustic, more chewy, more forgiving.
2. 2

   Roll the pici

   Cut the rested dough into four pieces. Keep unused portions covered. Roll one piece into a log about half an inch thick. Cut the log into small pieces, roughly the size of a grape. Using your palms on a wooden board (not marble, which is too smooth), roll each piece into a thick strand about the width of a shoelace and 8 to 10 inches long. The strands should be uneven, thicker in places, thinner in others. This is correct. Dust lightly with flour and set aside on a floured tray. Continue until all dough is rolled.

   Tuscan grandmothers roll pici with a particular motion, pressing and pulling simultaneously. The irregularity is the point. Factory pasta is uniform. Hand-rolled pasta has character.
3. 3

   Prepare the garlic

   Peel the garlic cloves and slice them very thin, almost transparent. True aglione cloves are enormous, mild, and sweet when cooked. If using regular garlic, you would use less and the dish would not taste the same. Elephant garlic, though botanically a leek, approximates the mildness of aglione and is your best substitute.

4. 4

   Cook the garlic slowly

   In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over the lowest possible heat. Add the sliced garlic and the crumbled peperoncino if using. Cook very slowly, stirring occasionally, until the garlic becomes soft, golden, and sweet. This takes 15 to 20 minutes. The garlic must never brown or turn crisp. If it begins to color too quickly, remove the pan from the heat entirely and let the residual warmth finish the job. This patient cooking transforms garlic from sharp to mellow. This is the entire point of the dish.

   I know what you are thinking. She complains about excessive garlic, and now she asks for ten cloves. The difference is technique. Raw garlic or quickly cooked garlic is harsh and overpowering. Garlic cooked slowly until it nearly dissolves becomes something else: sweet, gentle, almost caramelized. The quantity here is not a contradiction. It is chemistry.
5. 5

   Add the tomatoes

   Crush the canned tomatoes by hand directly into the skillet, letting their juices fall in as well. Stir to combine with the garlic and oil. Raise the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir occasionally. The sauce should reduce and thicken, the tomatoes breaking down completely. The garlic will disappear into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. The sauce should taste sweet from the garlic, bright from the tomatoes, with warmth from the peperoncino.

6. 6

   Cook the pici

   Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil. Salt it generously. Add the pici, stirring immediately to prevent sticking. Fresh pici cook quickly, 3 to 4 minutes, but they are thick and irregular, so test a strand. It should be tender but with pleasant chew at the center. Reserve one cup of pasta cooking water before draining.

7. 7

   Finish and serve

   Add the drained pici directly to the skillet with the sauce. Toss vigorously over medium heat for one minute, adding splashes of pasta water as needed to help the sauce cling to every strand. The sauce should coat the pici completely, not pool beneath them. Serve immediately in warmed bowls. Pass the grated cheese at the table.

   Once the pasta is sauced, serve it promptly, inviting your guests and family to put off talking and start eating. Pici waits for no one.

Chef Tips

• •True aglione garlic is difficult to find outside Tuscany. Elephant garlic, despite being botanically closer to a leek, provides the same mild sweetness when cooked slowly. Do not substitute regular garlic clove for clove; the dish will become harsh.
• •The wooden board matters for rolling pici. Marble and metal surfaces are too smooth; the dough slides instead of gripping. A clean wooden cutting board or wooden table creates the friction you need.
• •Pici can be made several hours ahead. Spread the rolled strands on a floured sheet pan, dust generously with semolina, and cover with a kitchen towel. Do not refrigerate; the dough becomes gummy.
• •Tuscan sheep's milk pecorino is traditional, but Parmigiano-Reggiano works beautifully. Some households in the Val di Chiana serve this without cheese at all, letting the garlic and tomato speak.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made and rested up to 4 hours ahead, wrapped tightly in plastic at room temperature.
• •The sauce can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently before tossing with the fresh pasta.
• •Do not roll the pici more than a few hours before cooking. Unlike egg pasta, this dough does not dry well and can become brittle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 385g)