Hand-Rolled Pici all'Aglione

⏱ 90 min · Serves 4

Tuscany's chunkiest pasta: fat, hand-rolled worms of flour-and-water dough tangled in a slow, sweet tomato sauce built on whole cloves of garlic melted to nothing. Rustic, garlicky, unapologetically simple — and worth every minute of rolling.

Per serving: 690 kcal · 18.0g protein · 86.0g carbs · 30.0g fat

Ingredients

• 400g '00' flour (or plain flour)
• 200ml warm water, plus a splash more if needed
• 1 tbsp olive oil (for the dough)
• 1 tsp fine salt
• Semolina flour, for dusting
• 8 fat garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 dried red chilli, crumbled (or 1/2 tsp chilli flakes)
• 800g tinned San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1 tsp sugar (if needed)
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Small handful basil leaves
• 50g Pecorino Toscano or Parmesan, finely grated

Method

1. Mound the flour on a board, add the salt, then make a well. Pour in the warm water and olive oil and bring together with your fingers, then knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap and rest 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, put the sliced garlic in a wide pan with the olive oil over the lowest heat. Cook very gently 10–12 minutes, stirring, until soft, sweet and pale gold — never browned.
3. Add the chilli, then the crushed tomatoes. Season, and simmer uncovered on a low bubble for 35–40 minutes until glossy, thick and the garlic has all but dissolved. Taste and add the sugar only if it needs it.
4. Roll the dough out to about 1cm thick. Cut into 1cm strips, then roll each strip under your palms into a long, slightly uneven worm about 3mm thick and 25–30cm long. Dust with semolina and coil loosely on a tray.
5. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil. Cook the pici 4–6 minutes, until they float and are tender with a definite chew.
6. Stir the basil into the sauce. Lift the pici straight into the sauce with tongs, add a ladle of pasta water and toss over medium heat 1–2 minutes until every strand is coated.
7. Serve in warm bowls with a shower of pecorino, a grind of pepper and a final thread of olive oil.