How To Make Garganelli Pasta

Emilia-Romagna is the home of rich egg pasta, with 1 egg used for every 100g of flour to create pasta sheets that are then cut into an endless variety of shapes. Garganelli are similar to penne rigati but instead of an extruded flour and water dough, they’re hand-rolled squares of fresh egg pasta (see video below). They’re rolled around a wooden rod, traditionally across a set of strings in a wooden frame (called a comb), though today a gnocchi board is more commonly used. I had garganelli with a delicious duck ragu at Hosteria Giusti in Modena in Emilia and learnt to make this simple pasta at Casa Artusi cooking school in Forlimpopoli in Romagna. The ridged hollow shape holds sauce well and you can dress garganelli with whatever you like, from a classic ragù Bolognese to this simple tomato sauce; Parma is the home of Mutti after all. Keeping it northern, I like to enrich my sauce with plenty of freshly grated Parmigiano and sometimes a knob of butter at the end.

Serves 2

Ingredients

200g plain flour
Pinch salt flakes
2 eggs
½ quantity Tomato Sauce
A few basil leaves, finely sliced
25g cold butter, diced (optional)
Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving

Method

Mound the flour onto a clean, dry work surface and make a deep well in the centre, leaving a little flour covering the base. A wooden bench is ideal as it absorbs some of the moisture, reducing the need to add extra flour to stop the dough sticking.
Add the salt then the eggs to the well.
Use your hands to mix the eggs, slowly working in the flour from the edges of the well to form a dough.
Knead for 5–10 minutes until smooth and elastic; this can be done by hand or using an electric mixer with a dough hook.
Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes or so; you can refrigerate it overnight, just return it to room temperature before rolling.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough as thinly as possible.
Cut into a neat rectangle about 30cm x 21cm. Cover the trimmings and set aside to make other pasta shapes (see FAQ below).
Cut the rectangle into 3cm squares.
Put a square onto a gnocchi board in a diamond shape (with a point facing towards you) and place a 1cm wooden rod (the handle of a wooden spoon works well) in the top centre of the triangle.
Roll the pasta forward around the rod along the gnocchi board, pressing firmly to ensure it seals where the points overlap.
Set aside and repeat with remaining squares.
Bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to the boil (10g salt/litre water).
Add pasta and cook for about 4 minutes, until tender; cooking time will depend on how dry the pasta has become, so start taste testing after 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, warm Tomato Sauce in a large saucepan over a low heat and stir in basil.
As soon as garganelli are cooked, scoop them out of the water into the sauce and toss to coat well.
Add a tablespoon or 2 of the pasta cooking water to give a creamy consistency.
Spoon into flat bowls, dot with butter (if using) and grate plenty of Parmigiano over the top.
Serve immediately.

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