How to Make Homemade Garganelli Pasta [step by step]

Italian cuisine is the kind of cuisine that does not have complex ingredients, procedures, or processes. Made out of basic herbs and fresh ingredients, it is still a fine cuisine with a very rich sense of flavour. Whenever I think of Italian cooking, I usually think of tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella, and that cheese stretch of a freshly-out-of-the-oven pizza.

Pasta, yet another Italian delicacy has now become a carb staple in various American and European households. With the advent of readymade pasta sauce and quick-boil kinds of pasta, people often do not realize that they’re missing the real deal. Cooking authentic Italian Pasta from scratch, although time-consuming, is a very therapeutic process.

The sheer aroma that fills up in your house, and the sense of satiation from the Italian Nonna’s comfort food is hard to beat…. I mean, try it for yourself! We bring to you a simplified step-by-step recipe, that you can follow and make Garganelli pasta like a pro. We have also included tips and tricks to make sure you have a fail-safe recipe until you are doing something wrong! So, without any further ado, let’s get started!

What exactly is Garganelli Pasta?

Garganelli is derived from an Italian local dialect word “Garganel” which roughly translates into ‘chicken oesophagus’. Shape like the food pipe of a chicken, this pasta is a tube-like pasta, which is made from egg pasta dough. It is not to be confused with a similar-looking, Penne pasta. Whilst the ridges on Penne Pasta are lengthwise, Garganelli pasta has ridges that go perpendicular to the length. Sometimes people often also make Garganelli Pasta without the ridges. What is peculiar to this type of pasta is the dough, the cut, and the folding. Making Garganelli sure requires patience, but in the end, it pays off!

Which sauces can I cook the Garganelli pasta with?

Garganelli is an egg dough pasta, and very basic in flavour as compared to squid ink pasta or basil pasta. Not seasoned per se, it is very versatile and acquires the flavour of the sauce it is added to. It is dynamic and the hollow tube-like structure and ridges of the pasta allow it to hold the sauce nicely, resulting in a very delicate, flavorful experience. I prefer to cook it in a contemporary tomato sauce with veggies and cheese. Arguably, some people say it is a no-cheese pasta. You can also add your preference for meat to the dish if you like. My mouth is already watering simply from thinking about it!

So, what do I need, to make Garganelli Pasta?

To make 2 Servings of Garganelli Pasta you need the following list of Ingredients and Equipment.

Ingredients

To make Garganelli Pasta:

• 400gms Soft wheat flour
• 4 free-range eggs
• Chitarra/Pasta Guitar/Gnocchi board (to create ridges)
• Stick; to rolling the pasta squares
• 1-litre water
• Salt (for boiling pasta)

For Pasta Sauce:

• 1 can; Canned tomato sauce
• ½ cup Pitted, Chopped Olives
• ½ cup Pancetta
• ½ cup chopped Cooking onions
• 6-7 cloves Garlic
• Paprika as per taste
• Salt for seasoning

Assemble all your ingredients well in advance and always remember to buy the freshest ingredients whenever possible!

How to Make Garganelli Pasta?

Method

Making the dough

1. Break eggs in a bowl, one by one
2. Beat the eggs till the yolk and egg whites combine
3. Add the flour to a large bowl
4. Create a small pit in the flour
5. Add in the egg mixture the soft wheat flour pit 
6. Gently combine the eggs and the flour
7. As the egg and flour combine, it will start taking a firmer form
8. Start combining it into a firm dough

• DO NOT ADD ANY WATER TO YOUR DOUGH.
• PATIENCE IS THE KEY!
• YOU’LL NEED TO KNEAD FOR AT LEAST 5 MINUTES

9. After the dough is combined, cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for a while

Shaping the Garganelli Pasta

1. In about 10-15 minutes you can start working with the dough; Meanwhile, you can start working with the sauce
2. Start rolling the dough into a thin rectangle sheet of about 2-3mm thickness
3. Using a pizza cutter, cut the sheet into 1×1 inch squares
4. Set the cut squares on a floured baking pan to make sure they don’t stick
5. Take one square sheet and place it diagonally on the Gnocchi Board, such that the ridges on board are parallel to the diagonal of the square sheet
6. Take a stick and place it on the upper corner of the square
7. Gently roll the sheet on the stick inward, wrapping the sheet around the stick whilst pressing down on the Gnocchi board to create ridges on the pasta
8. Keep the pasta on an olive oil greased tray

Cooking the Pasta

1. After you are done rolling the pasta, add water to the boiling pot and salt it
2. When the water comes to a boiling point, add your pasta to the salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes
3. Cook the pasta till it is al dente, that is, cooked till soft and chewy
4. Drain the pasta after it’s cooked and add some drizzle some olive oil on it
5. Add immediately to your cooked sauce to soak up flavour resulting in succulent delicious Pasta!

To make the Gypsy Pancetta Sauce

1. Cook the pancetta on a low flame till it releases some fat
2. As the fat is released as some crushed garlic, chopped onions, and olive and cook till onions get a golden hue
3. Add canned tomato sauce to the pan and stir
4. Cook it further till the tomato sauce is cooked and well combined with the fat
5. Season with salt and paprika as per your taste
6. Combine with pasta and cook for 3-5 mins on low flame
7. Plate your Pasta with some parmesan and basil and devour on this heavenly comfort food!

Bonus Tips and Tricks

•  Try combining the flour little by little, it becomes easier to deal with the sticky eggs
• The more you knead the dough the lesser chances there are for the pasta to tears whilst boiling
• Press the stick hard against the ridges of the Gnocchi board to get the right texture

This was our recipe of making a delicious Garganelli Pasta dish. Which sauces do you like to combine your Garganelli pasta with? Try this amazing Garganelli Pasta as a weekend treat or even as a fun Family activity! Let us know in the comments how your Pasta turned out. Also, tell us which recipes do you want us to cover further! Thank you for reading our recipe! Subscribe to our newsletter for more such amazing Pasta dishes, and much more! 

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