Garganelli with bacon tomato sauce

This time I decided to prepare a quick and simple tomato sauce, and invest more time on the actual pasta. Since we are on the topic, many believe that homemade pasta is always better than dried pasta. It is actually not how we see it in Italy. The choice of pasta depends on the sauce that you pair with it. Certain sauces go well with fresh pasta, while others would only really work with dried pasta. Bacon and tomato sauce is a classic example that pairs perfectly with fresh pasta, especially when it is riveted or hollow, so that the tasty sauce sticks particularly well. It is very easy to make and can hardly go wrong!


This time I decided to experiment a bit with my digital camera, so I shot a video of the key parts of the preparation process. Hopefully this helps!

The ingredients for the fresh Garganelli are:
- 200gr plain flour (2-4 people)
- 3 eggs
- a pinch of salt
- some olive oil

The ingredients for the sauce:
- Some chopped bacon, preferably smoked
- Chopped onions
- Some red wine
- Finely chopped garlic
- Finely chopped carrots
- Some drained tinned plum tomatoes (drain them from their juice for at least 1 hour)
- Oregano or basil to taste
- Chilli (optional)
- Pecorino cheese (optional)


For the fresh pasta, please follow the instructions as shown on the video. Depending on the size of the eggs, you will need to add additional egg white should the consistency be too hard and dry for kneading comfortably. When the dough is smooth, wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. In the meantime, start preparing the sauce.
Chop bacon, garlic, onions and carrots. On a frying pan, bring some olive oil to the heat and fry the bacon until golden. Remove it, then fry the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes and add the carrots. Continue to fry until soft and well browned, then remove from the pan. Deglaze the pan on high heat with a glass of red wine and reduce to a half. Then add the bacon back into the pan, followed by the chopped onions and carrots. When bubbling, add the plum tomatoes and rapidly chop them while tossing. Add the herbs and salt as necessary, then slowly continue to cook over very low heat.


Remove the dough from the fridge, and bit by bit flatten into sheets. Once a sheet is flattened, cut it into 3x3cm squares, and roll around a chopstick. Gently press and roll the ends of the chopstick onto a sushi bamboo mat to rivet the Garganelli, then place each piece aside. Do not overlap pieces on top of each other, or they will flatten.


In the meantime, the sauce should be ready. Add some water or milk if you need to prolong the cooking time and it gets too dry. Grate some Pecorino cheese, remove the sauce from the heat and mix it into it. Cover and let it rest.
Boil some water in a large saucepan, salt it and put the Garganelli into it. Let them cook for less than 2 minutes, then drain and mix them into an appropriate amount of sauce. Plate and serve hot.