TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Pici all'AglionePici with Aglione Tomato Sauce
Hand-rolled thick Tuscan pici with a tomato sauce made from large-cloved aglione garlic. The key is cooking the garlic until it dissolves, removing its pungency and developing sweetness. A regional dish whose rustic appearance belies its craftsmanship.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
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Ingredients (4 servings)
- Durum wheat semolinaFor pici dough, made with water and salt only, without eggs.400 g
- Aglione garlic (large-clove Tuscan garlic)Thinly sliced. Milder and sweeter than ordinary garlic.6 cloves
- Peeled canned tomatoes600 g
- Extra virgin olive oil80 ml
- Dried chili pepper1 piece
Method
Rest the pici dough
- 1 Knead 400 g semolina with 1 teaspoon salt and about 200 ml water into a uniform dough.
- 2 Wrap in plastic and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Ready when
The dough is uniform and smooth and has rested for 30 minutes.
Shape the pici
- 1 Take small pieces of dough and roll between both palms into thick strands 5–8 mm in diameter.
- 2 Shape all the dough into strands.
Ready when
All dough is shaped into thick strands 5–8 mm in diameter.
Caution
An even thickness ensures even cooking.
Cook the aglione
- 1 MeanwhileStart boiling a large pot of water (10 g salt per 1 L water).
- 2 Thinly slice 6 aglione cloves.
- 3 Put 80 ml olive oil in a frying pan and slowly cook the aglione over low heat for 10 minutes.
Ready when
The aglione is translucent and sweet.
Caution
Burning makes it bitter. Cook slowly over low heat for 10 minutes.
Reduce the tomato sauce
- 1 Add 1 chili pepper.
- 2 Add 600 g tomatoes, crushing them by hand, and reduce over medium heat for 15 minutes.
- 3 Further crush the aglione with a spatula to dissolve it into the sauce.
Ready when
The sauce has reduced and the aglione is incorporated.
Cook the pici and combine
- 1 Add the pici to the prepared boiling salted water and cook for 10–12 minutes.
- 2 Toss with the sauce to finish.
Ready when
The pici are cooked and combined with the sauce.
Caution
Traditionally, no Parmigiano is used.
About this dish
Walking through the Maremma between Siena and Grosseto, you will always find pici at farmhouse osteria tables. Pici is among Tuscany’s most primitive pasta: just flour and water, with no tools, rolled into thick strands between the palms. This hands-only constraint creates irregular cross-sections and rough surfaces that grip sauce strongly.
Aglione is a traditional tomato sauce around Siena, centered on garlic. Some recipes use red Tuscan garlic, in which case the balance of its sweetness and pungency determines the whole dish.
Handed down through farmhouse cooking around Siena, this dish depends on both its ingredients and hand-rolling technique.
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