{"id":5632,"date":"2023-07-31T00:20:24","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T00:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/hand-rolled-pici-pasta\/"},"modified":"2023-07-31T00:20:24","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T00:20:24","slug":"hand-rolled-pici-pasta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/hand-rolled-pici-pasta\/","title":{"rendered":"Hand-Rolled Pici Pasta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pici is a Tuscan form of spaghetti-style pasta typically made from flour and water. Arguably one of the most charming shapes in the pasta kingdom, it is shaped by hand and is quirky, irregular and purposefully imperfect. Three of my favorite qualities in both people and cooking. If you\u2019re intimidated by the thought of making fresh pasta, it\u2019s a great shape to start with. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\"Pici<\/span><\/p>\n

Pici: Let\u2019s talk Flour Types<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Pici
<\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n

Pici is traditionally made without egg, but many people make it with egg dough too. For reference, 93 year old Giuseppina Spiganti\u2019s pici is featured in Pasta Grannies<\/a><\/em>. She uses 00 flour and one egg in her pici dough. Missy Robbins references an egg dough for the pici in Pasta<\/a><\/em>, also made with 00 flour. Paul Bertolli makes pici eggless in Cooking By Hand<\/em><\/a>. And Jodi Williams and Rita Sodi use a blend of 00 and semolina flour with no egg in Via Carota<\/a><\/em>. The pici I encountered in Siena was most often made from flour and water only. I most often go the no-egg route for pici. But, there are definitely times when I have some straight-forward pasta dough<\/a> on hand, made with egg, and decide to shape some pici. Guess what? It\u2019s all wonderful.<\/span><\/p>\n

How To Make Pici: Step by Step in Photos<\/span><\/h2>\n

The great thing about pici is you don’t need any special equipment to make it. It’s a fantastic family activity – everyone loves to hand-roll this pasta. Precision isn’t what it’s about – the charm of pici is that they are perfectly imperfect. The one thing I would be mindful of is this. Err on the side of thinner versus thick pici. They will swell a bit when cooking, and when they are too thick the texture is off and timing can be tricky when cooking. Also, broadly attempt to make them the same-ish thickness. Don’t obsess over it, but you want them to cook in the same amount of time.<\/span>
\"pasta
Above: pici dough rolled out about 1\/4-inch thick and cut into strips.
\"Hands
Use hands to roll pici. Start in the center and work outward.
\"Hands
If your dough is being cranky, i.e. not wanting to stretch, set that noodle aside for a few minutes to rest while you move on to another. Come back to it.
\"Hands
How long? I tend to make my pici on the longer side. My intention is to be able to arrange them across my largest baking sheets (dust well with flour to prevent sticking), but more often than not they hang over.
\"Many
If you’re not going to cook the pici right away, coax any overhanging noodles back onto the pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to one day. You can dust pici well with flour, and arrange into nests, but arranging pici like this is a safer bet if you’re concerned about your pasta nest clumping together when you go to cook.\u00a0
\"Hands
<\/span><\/p>\n

Pici: Sauce Pairings<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love pici with this mushroom ragu<\/a>. Especially in the winter and fall. You see it served traditionally with meaty ragu-style sauces and mushrooms. I don\u2019t do the meat side of things, but lean in hard on the mushrooms. In summer, I\u2019ll lighten things up a bit with whatever looks great and in-season at the farmers\u2019 market. Here are a few recent pici sauce pairings we\u2019ve enjoyed. I\u2019ll add more over time. Some, not at all traditional, but super tasty nonetheless!
\"Pici
<\/span><\/p>\n