Pici with anchovy breadcrumbs

SERVES 8

“Our friend Fabrizio, and his wife, Antonella, and daughter, Ilaria, invited us to their house to make pici,” says Katie Caldesi. “The family squabbled happily about who rolled the best pici and, after a hectic few days, I felt myself finally slow down to the Tuscan pace of life. What a joy it was. Not just lunch, but an invitation to partake in the skills of the Tuscan kitchen – a wonderful way to spend the day.”

200 gm coarse breadcrumbs, from a day-old loaf 10 salt-cured anchovy fillets 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 tsp dried chilli flakes 8 tbsp olive oil Grated parmesan, to serve PICI ALLA FABRIZIO 1 kg “00” flour 1 tbsp olive oil

1 For the pici, place the flour in a bowl with oil and ½ tsp salt. Add cold water, a splash at a time, and mix with a wooden spoon until dough starts to come together. Turn out onto a large wooden board and knead until smooth and elastic (2-3 minutes). Put any dry crumbs in a bowl, add a splash of water and bring together into a dough with your hands, then combine the two. Add a little more flour and knead until smooth (10 minutes). Wrap in plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes (in the fridge in summer; leave it out in winter.)

2 Cut off a palm-sized piece of dough and roll out to a thickness of 3mm (keep the remainder wrapped so it doesn’t dry out). It should be like thick lengths of spaghetti. Use a pizza cutter to cut the piece into 5mm-wide strips.

Roll the strips into long strands, stretching them as you roll by spreading your fingers out. Leave pici separated on a floured board. They can rest here for a few hours or overnight. Repeat with remaining dough. Cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente

(4-5 minutes; 8-10 minutes if left overnight to dry). Drain.

3 Fry breadcrumbs, anchovies, garlic and chilli flakes in olive oil over medium heat until crunchy (5 minutes). Toss with pici and serve scattered with grated parmesan.