Pici with Garlic

Name: Pici with Garlic
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Pici pasta 12.7 oz; Garlic 6 cloves; Fresh chili pepper 1; Cluster tomatoes 1.5 lbs; Extra virgin olive oil 5 spoonfuls; White wine vinegar 1 spoonful; Fine salt to taste

426

Calories per serving

Energy Kcal 426
Carbohydrates g 72.4
of which sugars g 8.5
Protein g 10.4
Fats g 10.6
of which saturated fat g 1.57
Fiber g 3.7
Sodium mg 309

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Serving: 4 persone
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Pici with garlic is a traditional pasta dish from Tuscany, particularly from Val di Chiana. This region is the cradle of one of the products belonging to the Slow Food presidium: Chiana garlic. A variety of garlic rediscovered relatively recently, with significant dimensions and a less pronounced, more delicate flavor compared to other types of garlic. The pasta format, pici, is made with a dough of flour and water, very common throughout central Italy. They are also found dressed with ragù, duck, or breadcrumbs, but they are also excellent with cherry tomatoes and ricotta or with a vegetarian mushroom and walnut ragù.
The name pici derives from the term "appiciare" which refers to the type of processing required to make them, which involves hand-working the dough until a long spaghetti is created.
This preparation uses basic ingredients from our local cuisine: extra virgin olive oil, Chiana garlic (or garlic if you can't find this variety), and tomatoes that evoke the sunny Tuscan countryside.
Pici with garlic is a simple first course to prepare, very tasty, wholesome, and flavorful. Pair it with a succulent chicken cacciatore for a Tuscan-style menu!

INGREDIENTS: Pici pasta 12.7 oz (360 g); Garlic 6 cloves; Fresh chili pepper 1; Cluster tomatoes 1.5 lbs (700 g); Extra virgin olive oil 5 spoonfuls; White wine vinegar 1 spoonful; Fine salt to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Pici with Garlic

To prepare pici with garlic, start by blanching the tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute. Peel them and remove the seeds, then cut them into small cubes (1-2). Crush the garlic well 3. If you don't have this tool, you can slice the garlic and then crush it with the flat side of a thick knife.

Place the crushed garlic in a pan with the oil and the chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped (4-5). Sauté over very low heat: the soffritto should cook slowly, and the garlic should not turn brown but just dissolve. Leave it on the heat for about ten minutes until the garlic starts to dissolve. At this point, add the chopped tomatoes 6.

Add the vinegar 7 and adjust the salt. Cook the sauce over low heat until the tomatoes have broken down 8, resulting in a creamy sauce (this will take at least 20 minutes). Meanwhile, bring salted water to a boil for the pasta. If the sauce becomes too dry, you can add 2/3 ladles of pasta cooking water 9.

When the water boils, add the pici 10 and, after the cooking time, which generally takes about 18 minutes, drain them al dente and toss them in the sauce to flavor them (11-12). Serve the pici with garlic piping hot!