Pici Pasta
My Italian family recipe for pici pasta (thick spaghetti).
Ingredients
- 6.5 cups all-purpose flour (780 g)
- 1.5 cups warm water (345 ml)
- semolina flour
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Measure the flour into a dome on a large work surface such as a wooden or marble board.
- To make pici pasta by hand, create a well or hole in the center of the flour and crack the egg into it. Beat the egg, being sure not to disturb the well and break the walls of your flour well.
- Slowly add the water to the egg, whisking and slowly incorporating the edges of the floured well walls. Once it starts to come together and enough flour has been incorporated, you can start using your hands to knead the dough. If you find the dough is a bit too dry, add a bit more water but just a teaspoon at a time.
- Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes or so until smooth and elastic.
- To make pici pasta with a stand mixer, use the dough hook and add the flour to the bowl. With the mixer on low, add the egg and combine. Slowly add the warm water and continue mixing until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.
- Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap or cover with either a kitchen towel and let the pici dough rest for at least 30 minutes to develop the gluten but preferably an hour. This step is important for rolling out the pici pasta easily. You can also refrigerate the dough for up to one day.
- Unwrap the dough and cut it in half. Rewrap the half you aren’t using and set aside. Roll the dough out about ¼ inch thick. Just a couple at a time, cut strips roughly ½ inch wide. Cover the rolled out dough with a dish towel while you roll the pici to keep it from drying out.
- One by one, take a strip of pici dough and twist it slightly before placing onto a clear board free of flour and rolling it out into a long snake. Try and apply even, firm pressure as you press down and outwards. Start in the middle, press down and roll your hands back and forth, moving outward away from each other. Bring your hands back to the center of the pici ‘snake’ and repeat until you have achieved a thinly rolled pici. Don’t worry if it breaks, just make two pici at this point instead of one long one. Try to roll the pici thin as they will plump up significantly as they cook.
- Toss each pici in semolina flour and place them on a well semolina floured tray, baking sheet or wooden board. If you are working by yourself, I suggest covering them with a kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out.
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt well. Add the pici and stir often to prevent them from sticking to each other and the bottom of the pot. Cook until tender, anywhere from 4-8 minutes, depending on how thick or thin your pici are. Drain well and serve immediately with either aglione or ragù meat sauce.
Notes
- Please use a scale to measure flour and water. This is extremely important when making homemade pasta for the first time. Until you know what the dough should feel like, you should be weighing your ingredients to assure accuracy.
- Pici pasta is not supposed to be uniform and all the same thickness or length, so don’t be concerned about this. This is what makes pici pasta so unique!
- Pici pasta tends to plump up and is quite filling once cooked so try and roll them thinner rather than thicker.
- Once you have rolled the pici out, put them on a tray with plenty of semolina flour to prevent them from sticking. Dust more on top.
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