If I try to imagine a rustic type of pasta, with character, with body, which identifies a region, which is 'for many but not for all', I can't help but think of Tuscan pici.
Their history dates back to the Etruscan period, and the area is the border between Tuscany, Lazio and Umbria, where it is possible to find the same preparation with different names: from torcolacci to filarelli or pisciarell, up to lilleri from Lazio or even lombrichelli from Viterbo to finish with Umbrian stringoli and Perugian stringozzi.
The difference is made by the sauce, while the ingredients are always the same, simple and immediate: flour, water and salt. No egg, used in the past on the tables of the rich.
Manually produced from a piece of dough that is flattened and stretched, the etymology of the name is attributed to various origins.
The first would see the name of this pasta linked to the figure of Marco Gavio Apicius, a figure of Roman gastronomy, author of the famous work 'De re Coquinaria'. Indeed, it is a possibility. The second, however, would like to derive the name of this rustic pasta from San Felice in Picis, a town near Arezzo. Other rumors claim that the name derives from the gesture made with the palm of the hand to make the dough take the shape of the picio, which in Tuscan culinary jargon is the verb 'appiciare'.
If we are unable to be certain about the name, we are sure of one thing: the ingredients and production method have remained unchanged for hundreds of years.
Ingredients
- 1 kg Soft wheat flour Ideal for fresh pasta
- 500g water
- 15 g fine salt
How to prepare
Mix the flour with water and salt until you get the classic smooth and homogeneous dough and leave it covered or wrapped in plastic wrap.
With a rolling pin, flatten the dough until it reaches 1 cm, then cut pieces to roll manually until you reach a thickness of 3 or 4 mm.
We offer them all'aglione: one of the cornerstones of Tuscan cuisine.
In a large frying pan, fry some garlic (not a little, hence the name) together with some chilli pepper and then add some tomatoes cut into pieces, a pinch of salt and, at your discretion, a drop of vinegar (optional).
Season the pici boiled in salted water by sautéing them in the pan for a long time and serve hot.
Welcome to Tuscany.
Photography: Jessica Leone
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