I tasted the famous garlic pici, a typical dish of the Tuscan tradition, in Arezzo.
Concerned about possible difficult digestion, I was captivated by the delicate flavor and digestibility of the garlic, which I now consider a special ingredient.
Naturally, I returned home with two large bulbs of garlic, the preparation for garlic pici, and a package of pici to replicate the recipe for light garlic sauce at home.
Pici is a long pasta similar to spaghetti but thicker, made by hand with a simple dough of flour or semolina and water, without eggs.
The garlic typical of Valdichiana belongs to the Alliaceae family like common garlic and onion.
Light garlic pici or pasta with light garlic sauce: a simple, tasty, and digestible dish.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1/2 clove garlic (fresh or frozen)
- 2 dried red chilies (whole)
- 4 stems parsley
- as needed garlic pici preparation (garlic, chili, salt, and parsley)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce (homemade)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch mixed peppercorns (with grinder)
- 1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil (raw)
- as needed chopped parsley
- 5.5 oz pici (or pasta)
Suggested Tools
- 1 Knife paring knife
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Pan
Preparation
Remove the outer layers of skin covering the head of garlic.
Separate the cloves.
Peel a clove: cut the tip with a sharp paring knife and carefully remove the skin to avoid damaging the pulp.I used the garlic that I had previously cleaned and frozen.
For a detailed step-by-step procedure, you can read the complete tutorial by clicking the following link: Storing garlic in the fridge or freezer.
No need to thaw it.The garlic should not be fried but gently stewed with a little water.
In a pan, heat 1/2 clove of garlic – fresh or frozen – a couple of dried red chilies and some parsley stems.
I also added the garlic pici preparation – ingredients: garlic, chili, salt, and parsley.Add 1/4 cup of water and let it stew gently.
Remove the red chilies and parsley stems from the pan.
Add a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce.
Adjust the salt and grind the pepper.
Let it simmer as needed to blend and flavor the sauce.Off the heat, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and add chopped parsley.
Your light garlic sauce is ready.
Enjoy your meal!
Cook the pici – or pasta – rinse them under running water and drain.
In the meantime, gently heat the light garlic sauce – the oil should not cook.
Add the pasta to the pan with the light garlic sauce and mix.Plate.
Grind a little more pepper.Your light garlic pici is ready.
Enjoy your meal!
The light garlic sauce, besides being a tasty and irresistible pasta sauce, is excellent for seasoning legumes, meat, or fish.
Light garlic sauce in cubes
Use ice cube molds to get ready-to-use light garlic sauce cubes:
blend and distribute the light garlic sauce in the ice cube molds and store in the freezer.
Light garlic sauce always available in the amount needed to add color and flavor!
Variations
As an alternative to garlic, you can use 2-3 cloves of regular garlic with the core removed.
You can replace pici with spaghetti or whole grain spaghetti.
