Pici all'Aglione: Tuscan Garlic Tomato Pasta
Pici all’aglione is a Tuscan pasta where the sauce is built from tomato and slow-cooked garlic. It should taste mellow and rounded, not sharply raw.
The thick pici need a sauce with enough body to cling to them, so patience matters more than complication.
Let the Garlic Melt into the Sauce
The garlic should soften until sweet before the tomatoes go in. If it browns too hard, the sauce turns bitter.
Fresh pici are ideal, but dried pici or another thick pasta can still work when cooked carefully.
Ingredients for Pici all’Aglione
- 400 g pici pasta
- 5 large garlic cloves – sliced
- 700 g peeled tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- A small pinch of chilli – optional
- Salt
- Pecorino – optional, to serve
Make a Slow Garlic Tomato Sauce
- Soften garlic.
Cook garlic in olive oil over low heat until soft and fragrant, without browning it. - Add tomato.
Crush in the tomatoes, season lightly and simmer until thick. - Cook pici.
Boil the pasta until al dente, keeping some cooking water. - Toss well.
Toss pici with the sauce and loosen with pasta water until glossy.
Make It Bold Without Harshness
- Use low heat.
Gentle garlic gives sweetness. - Cook the sauce down.
Watery tomato will slide off pici. - Finish in the pan.
The final toss helps the sauce grip the pasta.
Serving Pici all’Aglione
Serve hot, with a little pecorino if you like. The sauce should be simple, rich and clearly garlicky.
More Tuscan Recipes
Continue with Pappa al Pomodoro, Tuscan Garlic Tomato Pasta.
