Been craving pasta and thinking about making it all week long. I just wanted to take a day off and have a fun day at home, alone, just me and the cats, making homemade pasta. Perhaps, not everybody’s idea of fun, but cooking is my happy escape. Finally had some free time this past Sunday. Not the day off I’ve been looking for, but not a bad way to spend a relaxing Sunday.

Meet pici (pronounced pee-chee), a thick, hand-rolled spaghetti-like pasta with a good amount of chew. It contains no eggs, just flour and water and a pinch of salt. It comes from the Tuscany region of Italy, where it’s traditionally served with 1. red tomato sauce (aglione sauce), 2. bread crumbs roasted in olive oil or 3.”cacio e pepe”.

The hardest thing about making pici is rolling them to a uniform thickness. Will definitely take some time until I get as good as the Pasta Grannies. Have you seen their YouTube channel? How can they not make you smile 🙂

Today’s version is made with a sauce that you’ll typically find in the Trapani region of western Sicily. A delicious, fresh pesto made from toasted almonds, tomatoes and basil that is typically served with a corkscrew-shaped pasta shape known as busiate. In Italy, there are particular sauces that pair with particular pasta shapes. I’m not that particular and I love the pairing of pici with the almond-tomato pesto. It’s also vegan and vegetarian. Deliziosa!

Pici Pasta

makes about 1 pound pici
180 grams 00 flour
180 grams semolina/semola (rimacinata di grano duro) flour
Pinch sea salt
180 grams warm water

Combine the 00 flour, semolina and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the middle. Pour in the water. With a fork, slowly work the flour into the water until it forms a shaggy ball. Transfer to a clean work surface and knead until soft and pliable, 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Set aside a plate of semolina flour.

Roll the dough out to about 1/3-inch thick large circle, roughly 14 inches in diameter. Cut into about 1/3-inch strips wide strips.

Take one strip and on a clean work surface, roll the dough back and forth with your fingers, working your way down the length of the strip until even thickness, roughly 3-feet long – this takes practice. If the strip snaps, simply squeeze the two bits together and keep going.

When your strip of dough has been transformed into a long pasta string, dunk it in the semolina flour, and loop it loosely before laying it on a tray.

Trapanese Pesto

1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 pound of ripe plum tomatoes, cored
Handful of fresh basil, about 20 leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
Red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra for toasting the almonds

Add a little olive oil to a frying pan. When hot, add the almonds and toast until golden brown. Add to a food processor, along with the tomatoes, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Pulse in food processor until creamy (but still a bit chunky).

With the machine still running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, emulsifying the purée into a thick pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Finishing the dish…

Fresh basil
Freshly grated Parmesan
Toasted and chopped slivered almonds (toasted in olive oil as described above)
Red chile flakes

To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add salt and bring it back to the boil and then slide in your pici. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, reserving some of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet with a little olive oil. Add 2/3 of the pesto and cook while the pasta is cooking. Transfer the pasta to the skillet, along with the remaining pesto and toss to combine. Add a little pasta water if needed, a tablespoon or two, to thin the pesto just a bit. Cook another minute or so until warmed through.

Divide into bowls and top with fresh basil leaves, freshly grated Parmesan, toasted almonds and red chile flakes.