Tuscan Pici with Sausage Ragout

Recipe Overview

This Tuscan pici dish brings together the rustic strength of handmade flour-and-water pasta with a deeply savory sausage ragout and earthy mushrooms. The thick irregular strands of pici hold the sauce beautifully, creating a plate that is generous, comforting, and unmistakably Tuscan.

Ingredients

• 450 g hand-rolled pici pasta
• 900 g Tuscan sausage ragout or bulk Italian sausage
• 950 ml tomato sauce
• 450 g mixed mushrooms, cleaned and julienned
• 300 g yellow onions, finely chopped
• 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
• 12 g garlic, minced
• 120 g Pecorino Romano, finely grated
• 120 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Prepare the pici dough and hand-roll the pasta into thick, irregular strands, or use prepared pici dough already made from your base recipe.
2. Sweat the onions in olive oil until translucent, then add the garlic and cook briefly until fragrant.
3. If using raw sausage, brown it separately and drain excess fat, then fold it into the onions. If using prepared Tuscan sausage ragout, warm it gently and continue with the mushrooms.
4. Blanch the mushrooms briefly, drain well, then sauté them in olive oil until dry and lightly golden. Fold them into the sausage mixture.
5. Add the tomato sauce and simmer gently for 45 to 60 minutes until the ragout is rich, glossy, and deeply flavored.
6. Cook the pici in plenty of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Transfer the pasta to a sauté pan with a ladle of ragout and a splash of pasta water, then toss to coat.
7. Finish with Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano Reggiano, and a thread of olive oil. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately.