A hand-rolled egg pasta of Romagna, the south-eastern half of Emilia-Romagna, also called maccheroni al pettine. A thin sheet of egg dough is cut into squares, and each square is rolled on the diagonal around a thin dowel and pressed over the ridged teeth of a comb (pettine), giving a short hollow tube grooved on the outside. Classically it is dressed al ragù or with a creamy sauce of prosciutto and peas, and served as a main-course primo. The egg-rich dough and ridged, hollow form are built to hold a meat or cream sauce.
Garganelli are a documented egg pasta of the Romagna lowlands, the area between Imola and Lugo di Romagna, both of which claim paternity; the name comes from the Romagnolo dialect word garganel, the gullet or windpipe of a chicken, after the pasta's tubular, ridged shape. A popular tale dates the shape to a New Year's Eve dinner around 1725 in the household of Cardinal Bentivoglio d'Aragona, papal legate to Romagna, whose cook is said to have run out of cappelletti filling and rolled the leftover dough squares over a weaver's comb instead; Italian sources tell this as legend rather than recorded fact, and an older attribution to the cook of Caterina Sforza is equally unverified. What is certain is that the comb itself, the pettine, was a repurposed weaving comb from a time when households wove their own woollen cloth. A Festa del Garganello has been held since the early 1990s at Codrignano near Imola.
A short golden tube, ridged on the outside and open at both ends, with a firm, springy chew from the egg dough — sturdier than a flat noodle, never mushy. The ridges and the hollow centre trap the sauce, so each piece arrives loaded inside and out rather than slick on the surface. Against a ragù it tastes of egg and wheat under the meat; with prosciutto and peas it is sweet and savoury, the cured ham salty against the soft peas. A good garganello holds its tube shape and its grooves after boiling; rolled too thin or boiled too long it splits open and goes slack.
The dough is a rich egg pasta — flour worked with whole eggs, often with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and a little nutmeg — so it carries far more egg than a flat tagliatelle. The egg yolk's fat and lecithin and the egg protein together give a stronger, more elastic sheet that can be rolled into a tube and pressed over the comb without tearing, and that sets firm rather than slumping when boiled. Rolling each square on the diagonal seals it into a tube whose seam holds, while the comb presses the ridges that, with the open ends, multiply the surface that grips a ragù or a cream sauce. The pasta is boiled only briefly; fresh egg pasta cooks in a few minutes, and it is finished by tossing in the hot sauce so the grooves take it up.
Variations
The two canonical Romagnolo dressings are a meat ragù and garganelli con prosciutto e piselli; the latter, enriched with cream, is the well-known «3P» (panna, prosciutto, piselli). Cooks substitute pancetta or speck for the cooked ham, and finish with grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. The dough itself ranges from plain egg pasta to one enriched with Parmigiano and nutmeg. Garganelli are a Romagnolo cousin of the region's other hand-formed egg pastas and are distinct from the eggless hand-rolled strozzapreti of the same area.
On the Palate
Where Garganelli sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 1 hour 15 min
- 115 min
Make a firm egg dough from flour, whole eggs and, if you like, grated Parmigiano and a pinch of nutmeg; knead until smooth.
- 230 min
Cover the dough and rest it for about 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes.
Watch outRest the dough a full 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes — a tight dough springs back and tears when you roll it over the comb.
- 312 min
Roll the dough into a thin sheet and cut it into squares of roughly 4 to 5 cm.
- 420 min
Roll each square diagonally around a thin dowel while pressing it over the ridged comb, then slide off the ridged tube and set aside.
Watch outPress each square firmly over the ridged comb so the seam seals and the grooves take — loose tubes unroll and stay smooth in the water.
- 518 min
Make the sauce: for the classic, soften prosciutto and peas with onion in butter, or simmer a meat ragù until rich.
- 65 min
Boil the garganelli in plenty of salted water until al dente, just a few minutes for fresh pasta, then drain.
Watch outBoil fresh garganelli just a few minutes to al dente — the ridged tubes overcook fast and lose their bite.
- 73 min
Toss the pasta in the pan with the sauce so the ridges take it up, finish with grated Grana, and serve at once.
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