Strozzapreti: Priest Choker Pasta

 

00 Flour 300g
Semolina flour 100g
Still water 150ml (warm), or more, depends on the flour
Salt - a pinch

4 portions

Put the flour in a heap on a pastry board or in a bowl.

Make a hole in the middle of the flour and slowly add warm water as you begin to incorporate the flour with a fork.

Start kneading with your (very clean) hands, first with your fingertips and then, when the dough is more consistent, with your palms. You are aiming for a smooth and soft mixture.

Make a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Let the strozzapreti dough rest for 30 minutes in a cool place.

After the dough has rested, roll it out into a thin sheet of about 1.5 millimeters thick.

Fold the pasta and cut the pastry into 1.5 cm strips. At this point, roll up the strips with slightly moistened hands. Do not exert too much pressure, but proceed gently so as not to crush the dough.

In this way you will get the classic rolled shape of strozzapreti. In the centre you will notice a sort of knot called the 'choke' in jargon. Repeat the operation until the dough is used up. This takes some practice to get right but that's part of the fun of making pasta.

Break each strozzapreti with your hands, trying to get a maximum length of 8 cm.

Arrange the strozzapreti well spaced on a lightly floured tray and let them rest for 10/15 minutes before cooking.

Cook the strozzapreti in plenty of boiling salted water.

Are you used to putting oil in fresh pasta water? This is a false myth. To prevent the fresh pasta from sticking while cooking, just pay attention to the cooking time and, above all, drain it with a slotted spoon without pouring it into a colander.

tweaked from:
https://www.finedininglovers.com/recipes/homemade-strozzapreti

I couldn't find any Semolina , so I just used 400g of 00 flour and they came out OK...