Tuscan Pasta
Pici all'aglione: the original recipe from Val di Chiana
The authentic recipe for pici all'aglione with Valdichiana DOP aglione garlic. How to make the sauce and the secret to getting it right.
Aglione: what it is and why it differs from common garlic
The aglione della Valdichiana is one of the most distinctive horticultural varieties in Tuscany - and one of the easiest to love, even for those who normally cannot tolerate garlic. Its name is already a promise: aglione means big garlic, and the plant produces bulbs that can weigh up to a kilogram, with cloves as large as a walnut. But size is the least interesting aspect.
The fundamental difference from ordinary garlic lies in its aromatic profile. Regular garlic - the Allium sativum of kitchens worldwide - contains allicin, the molecule responsible for that pungent and persistent smell that lingers in the mouth and on the skin for hours. The aglione della Valdichiana (Allium ampeloprasum) has a different chemical composition: it almost completely lacks that aggressive component, and in its place develops a sweet, rounded aroma with notes almost reminiscent of caramelised onion. It leaves no classic aftertaste - you can eat a dish of pici all’aglione and not feel obliged to avoid other people’s company for the rest of the evening.
This aromatic profile makes it extraordinarily suited to long cooking in oil - one of the bases of the aglione sauce. Where common garlic would burn and become bitter, aglione softens, almost dissolves, and releases its sweetness into the fat of the oil without aggression.
The Valdichiana and the DOP aglione
The Valdichiana is an agricultural plain extending between Arezzo and Chiusi, crossed by the Chiana river. It is one of the most fertile agricultural territories in Tuscany - not coincidentally, it is also the area of origin of the Chianina cattle breed. Here aglione grows in silty, well-drained soils, and the tradition of its cultivation dates back at least to the seventeenth century, with citations in agricultural documents of the time describing it as a regular ingredient in the peasant cooking of the area.
Official recognition as a geographically protected product - the Aglione della Valdichiana obtained DOP registration - has given this product a protection that distinguishes it from commercial imitations. Aglione grown outside the Valdichiana area tends to have different characteristics: less sweet, smaller, with an aroma closer to normal garlic. The specificity of the authentic product depends on the microclimate and soil of the Chiana plain.
Outside Tuscany, aglione is almost unknown - it is rarely found outside regional markets and specialist delicatessens. But those who find and taste it rarely need further explanation: the comparison with common garlic is immediately eloquent.
The aglione sauce recipe step by step
The aglione sauce is one of the simplest preparations in Tuscan cuisine - very few ingredients, elementary technique, but it requires attention to timing and quality of what is used.
For four people: 3-4 large cloves of aglione (approximately 80-100 grams), 400 grams of tinned peeled tomatoes or ripe fresh tomato (in summer), 6 tablespoons of Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil, fresh or dried chilli to taste, salt.
Stage 1 - Cooking the aglione: the aglione cloves, peeled and lightly crushed with the palm of the hand, are placed in extra-virgin olive oil cold in a wide pan. Turn on the heat to minimum and let the aglione warm slowly in the oil. It should not fry aggressively - it should sweat. After ten minutes the aglione is soft and the oil has become gently aromatic. At this point you can leave the aglione whole or crush it with a fork - many prefer it crushed, so that it blends completely into the sauce.
Stage 2 - The tomato: the peeled tomatoes are broken by hand and added to the pan with the aglione. The chilli enters at this point. Raise the heat slightly and let the sauce cook over medium heat for twenty minutes, stirring from time to time. The sauce should reduce and thicken - you are looking for a consistency that coats the spoon well, not a watery broth.
Stage 3 - Final adjustment: taste for salt, adjust if necessary, add a drizzle of raw extra-virgin olive oil before dressing the pasta.
How to cook pici for this sauce
The aglione sauce works best with pici cooked in a way that maintains a certain firmness - not mushy, not overcooked. Pici go into abundant boiling salted water. Cooking time varies based on size - on average seven to eight minutes for hand-made pici, slightly less for bought ones.
The secret is the mantecatura (tossing): pici should not be drained dry. Remove them from the water with tongs or a slotted spoon, bringing some cooking water with them, and place them directly into the sauce in the pan. Toss over high heat for one minute, adding a ladleful of cooking water if the sauce dries out too much. The starch from the cooking water helps the sauce bind to the pasta - that is the final creaminess that distinguishes a well-tossed dish from one mechanically dressed.
Variations: with or without tomato?
There is a version of pici all’aglione without tomato - just aglione, extra-virgin olive oil, a little chilli and cooking water. It is the oldest version, made before tomato became an everyday ingredient in Tuscan kitchens (tomato spread as a culinary ingredient in Tuscany only in the eighteenth century, and became fully established in the nineteenth).
This white version has a purer and more direct flavour - aglione without the mediation of tomato is even more evident in its aromatic sweetness. It is less visually striking, but for those who love the intensity of Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil and the aroma of aglione it is almost more satisfying.
A modern variation adds fresh cherry tomatoes (datterini or ciliegini) instead of tinned ones, giving an acidic freshness and a livelier texture.
Wine pairing for pici all’aglione
The aglione sauce is a predominantly sweet condiment - the sweetness of the aglione, the ripe tomato, the oil. This calls for a wine with a certain acidity that balances and cleanses the palate.
Vernaccia di San Gimignano is the most natural pairing - it comes from twenty kilometres away from Poggibonsi, has that slightly acidic freshness and that bitter finish that complement perfectly with the sweetness of the aglione. A simple young Chianti works equally well - its fruity acidity cleanses the mouth without covering the flavours. Avoid very aromatic white wines (Gewürztraminer, Moscato) that would confuse the aglione with other floral aromas.
Want to taste it for real?
At Ristorante Alcide you will find it on the table - made the right way, with fresh ingredients and the care of the Ancillotti family since 1849.
