Garganelli are similar to penne rigati except they’re hand-rolled fresh egg pasta rather than an extruded flour and water dough.
The ridged hollow shape holds sauce well and you can dress them with whatever you like, from a classic ragù Bolognese to this simple tomato sauce.
On my last food and wine tour to Italy, I had garganelli with a delicious duck ragu in Emilia and learnt to make them at Casa Artusi cooking school in Romagna. Emilia-Romagna is the home of rich egg pasta, with one egg used for every 100g of flour to create pasta sheets that are then cut into an endless variety of shapes.
Discover more traditional recipes from the region known as Italy’s ‘food valley’ with my Online Italian Cooking Class featuring the food of Emilia-Romagna. Use coupon Your Life by Sunday 25 February to receive a 50 per cent discount.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
200g plain flour
salt flakes, to taste
2 eggs
Tomato Sauce
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small red onion
200g canned Italian tomatoes, chopped
A few basil leaves, finely sliced
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.
Meanwhile, make tomato sauce: place oil and onion in a saucepan with a good pinch of salt, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, until tender, stir in tomato, simmer for a minute or so then set aside.
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.
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, reheat sauce over a low heat.
As soon as garganelli are cooked, scoop them out of the water into the sauce and toss to coat well.
Add a tablespoon or two of the pasta cooking water to give a creamy consistency.
Serve immediately in flat bowls.
You’ll find a print-friendly version of this recipe here as well as a step-by-step video of how to make them.
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Also read: Saffron poached pears
