Receta “priest chokers” made with farro flour
“priest chokers” made with farro flour
here they are, peasant beauties, the stranged named strozzapreti
STROZZAPRETI. Priest stranglers? Isn’t this a crazy name? Sounds like a recipe of the Swedish Chef .
The origin of the name is unclear but it is surely evocative of our farmers’ long suffering under centuries of papal domination. Having to part with hard earned food as a tax, they wished the greedy clerics to choke on it.
The strozzapreti are short, eggless noodles, not dissimilar to the Umbrian stringozzi. They are simply made with flour and water and rolled by hand to obtain irregular pasta curls. This is a nicely rustic, wheat-free version I made today with farro flour. You could also use spelt, whole wheat or regular wheat flour or a mixture of any of the above.
Recipe
- 300 gr (3 ) farro flour plus additional for kneading
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
To make the strozzapreti dough use the same food processor method which I have explained for egg pasta. The dough must be firm but pliable so you might need to adjust the amount of water depending on the type of flour you are using. Roll the dough with a pasta machine until it’s thin, but not transparent, one setting before the last one. While the pasta is still soft, cut the dough into 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) ribbons, then…
...take a pasta ribbon on the palm of your hand....
....roll the pasta ribbons to make it curl....
With a sharp knife cut the ribbons into 5 cm (2 inch) long pieces and set them on a floured worktop or cotton towel to dry.
Cook in salted boiling water for one minute, they overcook fast! Toss with sauce and a little pasta water as as explained here. Serve immediately.
The strozzapreti need a robust sauce like ragù , a Norcina or a porcini mushroom sauce. In Romagna they serve them with seafood. YUM.
Serves 2-3 as a main.