Pici all'Aglione

Method

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1. Knead the flour, water, oil and salt into a firm dough, 10 minutes. Rest 30 minutes under a cloth.

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2. Roll the dough 1 cm thick, cut into strips, and roll each strip under your palms into a long fat noodle about the thickness of a pencil. They will be uneven, which is correct.

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3. Slice the garlic thinly and put it in a wide pan with the 8 tbsp oil over the lowest possible heat.

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4. Cook 15 minutes, stirring, until it has collapsed into a sweet paste. It must not take any colour at all.

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5. Add the tomatoes, chilli and salt and simmer 30 minutes, crushing the tomatoes against the pan, until thick.

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6. Boil the pici for 5 to 7 minutes — they are thick and take longer than they look.

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7. Toss through the sauce with a splash of pasta water, finish with the oil and basil, and serve without cheese.

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Chef’s Tips

• Fifteen minutes of very low heat on the garlic. No colour at all.
• Roll them uneven. Machine-perfect pici are not pici.
• No cheese. The sauce is three things and that is the point.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• A glass of Chianti
• Crusty bread
• Green salad

Storage & Reheating

The sauce keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes for 3 months. Fresh pici freeze raw for 2 months.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.