During our Italian Adventure of June 2007 we stumbled upon another great opportunity to try the local food finds in Pienza Italy. Pienza is a small town located not far from Montepulciano in Umbria. Pienza is known for it’s local production of Pecorino Romano, the famous sheep’s milk cheese of the region. After a short journey from Florence we soo appeared in the local piazza of Pienza and scouted out a place to enjoy lunch on that Sunday. Soon after we were enjoying some of the best handmade Pici I have ever had. Pici is a traditional Italian pasta rolled by hand and best enjoyed with a ragu con bolognese and fresh grated pecorino, sprinkled on top. Thinking back to our vacation’s spent in Italy does leave me with culinary challenges back here in the US. Although I have not found a restaurant yet in this Country that serves handmade pici, I did find a recipe, courtesy of Mario Batali to try at home.
2 cups semolina flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 to 1 1/4 cups tepid water
Place both types of flour in a large mixing bowl and stir to mix well. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the water a little at a time, stirring with your hands until a dough is formed. You may need more or less water, depending on the humidity in your kitchen.Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead it like bread until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover the dough and let it stand for 10 minutes at room temperature.
Roll the dough into long dowels about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Place the pasta strands between 2 hands and lightly roll back and forth to create a lightly spiraled, snake-like noodle. Place the pici on a sheet tray that has been dusted with semolina flour, cover the pasta with a clean dish towel, and set aside until ready to use. At this point, the pasta can be frozen for several months or used right away with a glass of vino!
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