Doughs:
- Standard Egg Dough
- Almost All-Yolk Dough
- Whole Wheat Egg Dough
- Parsley-Speckled Dough
- Black Pepper Dough
- Colorful Egg Dough
Sauces:
What they are
Quill-shaped hollow tubes wrapped in deep ridges from Emilia-Romagna. They’re the invention, some say, of a housewife whose cat ate her tortellini filling just as her dinner guests walked through the door. Quick on her feet, she spotted a loom comb nearby and rolled her already-cut pasta squares across it with a stick. Even now, traditional garganelli are made with a comb called a pettina and a wooden dowel called a bastoncino. You can also use a gnocchi board—some come with garganelli-making dowels—but the handle of a wooden spoon works too, or improvise with a sushi mat and a Sharpie marker.
How they’re traditionally served
With meat sauces; seasonal vegetables like peas, mushrooms, pumpkin, and zucchini; often with ham and pancetta.
Note:
Garganelli have an affinity for collapsing, so don’t worry if they start to deflate over time. Rolling the dough into a semi-thin sheet and letting the squares dry for a few minutes before shaping will help them keep their shape. You can also dry the garganelli for up to 5 hours before cooking.
MAKE THE DOUGH
Make your dough of choice and let it rest, tightly covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes.
SET UP YOUR WORKSPACE
Dust a sheet pan with semolina or line it with a dry dishcloth. Gather your tools and set up your pasta machine.
SHEET THE DOUGH
Roll a quarter of your pasta dough into a sheet, stopping at twice through setting 5 for both the Marcato and KitchenAid machines.
CUT THE SHEET INTO SQUARES Cut the sheet into 1¼- to 1½-inch (3- to 4-cm) squares, either with a bicycle pastry cutter or by hand.
To cut the squares by hand: Position the pasta sheet horizontally on your work surface. Trim a thin strip of dough, about ¼ inch (6 mm) from the top and bottom (longer) edges so the sheet is a little narrower. Fold the pasta into thirds like a letter, first folding the bottom third upward about halfway and making a crease, then folding the top edge downward to meet the bottom and making another crease. Unfold the pasta sheet and cut along the creases—you should have three rows.
Let a few of the squares dry for about 5 minutes before forming the garganelli, or a little longer if it’s a humid day. Cover any squares you’re not using with a damp dishcloth or plastic wrap.
MAKE THE GARGANELLI
Place your garganelli board on your work surface. Transfer a square to the center of the board in a diamond orientation. Position the wooden dowel at the bottom third of the diamond. Curl the bottom point of the pasta over the dowel, making sure the dough is flush. Holding either side of the dowel, continue rolling the dough away from you, with firm pressure, until it completely wraps around the dowel and the two points seal.
Gently twist the pasta off the dowel—if the dough sticks, leave it to dry for a few moments and try again. You should have a hollow tube imprinted with deep ridges. Arrange the finished garganelli in a single layer on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining squares, and then the remaining dough.
COOK THE PASTA
Cook the garganelli until tender, 3 to 5 minutes, depending on thickness and drying time.
