Pici all'Aglione

Typical Tuscan folk recipe, Pici all'aglione are popular above all in the low province of Siena, precisely in Cella sul Rigo (near San Casciano dei Bagni). The special dish has been celebrated every year the last Sunday of May during the Sagra dei Pici, since 1970.

Ingredients

For 4 persons:

• 500 grams of semola flour
• 200 ml (6.5 oz/or 3/4 cup) warm water
• juice of half a lemon
• 600 gr fresh tomatoes
• 10 gr garlic
• 30 gr extra-virgin olive oil
• 15 gr parsley
• salt to taste

Preparation

Pici are hand-made, somewhat irregular strands of flour-and-water pasta (as opposed to egg pasta) that are about an eighth of an inch thick.

Put the flour on your work surface, scoop out a well in the middle; pour the water into the hole, the lemon juice and 10 grams of olive oil. Knead the mixture, adding further water if necessary, until you obtain a fairly elastic and smooth dough (figure 5 minutes of kneading). Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, then roll it out thinly and cut many spaghetti stripes. Do not worry if they look "irregular", that is the beauty of home made pasta! :-)

Boil the pici in salted water (1 litre of water every 100 grams of pasta). Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan, add crushed garlic, diced tomatoes and a pinch of salt and drops of vinegar to taste.

By now the pici should be al dente; drain them, place them into the skillet while the colander is still dripping a little bit. Move the skillet as you would if you were flipping an omelet to coat the strands with the sauce.

Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve while hot.