Stringozzi pasta, the Umbrian pici

Also named strangozzi, pici, ciriole, umbricelli,  the delicious noodles is a fresh pasta similar to thick spaghetti. They are traditionally made all over Central Italy and especially popular in Umbria.

The  stringozzi are delicate and chewy at the same time because they are made with no eggs or with a minimum amount of eggs. In the past, this was the poor man pasta, made by farmers who relied on income to sell eggs at the market. Eggs were also bartered for other difficult to obtain foods and – as a consequence – hardly ever used for cooking.

Also, stringozzi were made in the winter when people had to make do with few or no eggs.

As they overcook easily, I use  just enough eggs to hold the dough together to prevent them falling apart while cooking.

Recipe

Ingredients

Traditional recipe

• 330 gr (2 and 3/4 cups) 00 flour plus additional for kneading
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pinch salt

Vegan recipe:

• 150 g 00 flour
• 150 g very fine semolina flour
• 3 g salt
• 1. 5 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup water

Directions

For the traditional recipe, in a food processor bowl, blend the flour and egg, then add water  until the mixture just begins to form a ball. Depending on the size of the egg it might be necessary to adjust the amount of water in order to obtain a quite firm but flexible dough.

For the vegan recipe, mix the flours in a food processor, then add salt and half of the water while blending on high speed. Add the olive oil and just enough water to obtain a firm and elastic dough. Rest in a bowl covered with a cotton towel for at least 20 minutes.

Alternatively knead all ingredients on a floured wooden board until smooth and elastic.

You can roll the noodles by hand as explained in the video above or use a pasta maker.

To roll with a pasta maker, set the smooth rollers of the pasta machine on the second widest setting. Cut the dough into 4 or 5 pieces. Flatten one piece of dough into a rectangle and feed through the rollers. Fold the rectangle in half and feed through the rollers 3 or 4 more times, dusting with flower as necessary to prevent sticking.

Roll out each piece of dough in the same manner. Cut the dough into small ribbons while the pasta is still soft. Keep flouring the pasta to avoid sticking.

Cook in salted boiling water for one minute for vegan and 1.5 minutes for traditional stringozzi. It is important to cook the pasta plenty of water as the noodles stick and overcook easily. It is also better to cook several small batches rather than a large one.

Serve with a simple tomato sauce and sprinkle with lots of fresh parsley. They are delicious also with Norcina, Puttanesca, Cacio e Pepe and with Porcini mushrooms.

Serves 3-4