Strozzapreti

This is a traditional pasta dish that is quite popular in San Marino. The dish is enhanced by the addition of meat sauce, cheese, and other ingredients by the local cooks. This Strozzapreti also includes seasoned veggies. Apart from these, flour, water, salt, and meat are required to make this delectable Strozzapreti.

Ingredients

• Option 1: All-purpose flour: 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (310 grams), plus more for dusting, 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
• Option 2: ‘00’ flour: 2 1/3 cups ‘00’ flour (304 grams), plus more for dusting, 3/4 cup water
• Option 3: Semolina blend, 1 3/4 cups all-purpose or ‘00’ flour (233 grams), plus more for dusting, 1/3 cup semolina flour (55 grams), 3/4 cup water
• For cooking: Salt, for the cooking water

Instructions

• Sift the flour. Sift the flour(s) through a fine-mesh strainer into a mound on a work surface.
• Create a well. Make a well in the center of the mound about 6 inches wide with sides high enough to hold the water in the center. Gently pour 3/4 cup water into the well.
• Incorporate some of the flour into the water. Using a fork, gently whisk some of the flour next to the water into the water until the mixture looks like thick pancake batter.
• Finish combining the flour and water. Once the mixture is too thick to whisk anymore, use your hands or a bench scraper to finish folding the dry flour into the dough. Working from the outside in, fold the flour into the wet dough mixture until everything is completely combined into a shaggy dough. If the mixture is too dry, wet your hands and continue kneading.
• Knead the dough. Pull the top edge of the dough over the center and press down with the palm of your hand. Rotate the dough by a quarter of a turn and repeat. Repeat until you have a rough, slightly shaggy ball of dough, about 5 minutes.
• Check the dough for moisture. If the dough still appears dry on the outside, wet your hands and continue to knead until the dough is smooth with light lumps on the outside, about 5 minutes more. Press the dough with your finger, it should gently bounce back. (Alternatively, if the dough appears too wet, then dust some flour.)
• Wrap the dough and let it rest. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, clean up the work surface.
• Divide the dough. Generously dust the work surface with flour. Unwrap the dough and cut it in half with a knife or bench scraper. Rewrap one piece in the plastic wrap while you roll out the other.
• Roll the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until very thin, about the thickness of 6 to 8 stacked sheets of paper (about 3 mm). The shape doesn’t matter, but it can be rolled into a rough 10x16-inch rectangle.
• Cut dough into strips. Using a pastry, pizza wheel, or sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-inch wide strips. Cover the strips with plastic wrap while you twist the pasta one strip at a time.
• Twist the pasta. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly dust with flour. Working one strip at a time, gently pull the strip from the work surface. Using your non-dominant hand, gently pinch the strip about 3 inches from one end. Using your dominant hand, gently twist the strip as much as you can until you have about a 2-inch long twisted piece of pasta. Remove the twist from the rest of the strip with a pinch and twist motion, then place it on the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the strip, then repeat with the remaining strips, placing the strips in a single layer on the baking sheet. Let pasta dry on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. (The strozzapretti can be frozen on the baking sheet at this point.)
• Repeat with the remaining dough. Repeat rolling, cutting, and shaping the remaining piece of dough, placing it on the second baking sheet.
• Cook the pasta. Fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil and season generously with salt. Add the pasta and cook until just al dente, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and serve with your favorite sauce.