This is a general recipe for fresh solina pasta dough, which you can adapt to whatever flavours and toppings you like. Here, I used pesto. Pici is perhaps not the most beautiful of the pasta shapes (!), but it’s very easy to make and doesn’t require a pasta machine.

Our friends across the border in Oxfordshire at Nettle Foods kindly sent some of their absolutely delicious basil and kale pesto (Basil Kale Pesto — Nettle (nettlefoods.co.uk), a product they create using by-products from their nut ferments in place of parmesan for zero-waste. They focus on making fermented products to support gut health, working with suppliers who use regenerative farming methods and who grow their produce without harmful pesticides. They also sent us some of their “cultured gold” plant-based nut ferment, their take on cultured butter, which I stirred a knob of through at the end.

Our solina flour makes delicious fresh pasta, so I thought this would be a beautifully simple pairing of the herbs and the grains.

If you’re going to finish cooking the pici off in a sauce, then obviously reduce the cooking time below to suit your purposes - you want to serve it while it is still al dente.

Ingredients – for the pasta dough- Serves 2

• 190g white solina flour
• 90g water
• pinch of salt

Plus pesto and seasonings of your choice to serve.

Method:

Weigh your flour plus a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl, and make a well in the middle. Gradually pour in the water, mixing as you go. Form into a ball and knead for roughly 10 minutes.

You want a smooth dough which doesn’t crack as you work it - it should be firm, not wet to the touch. If you need more water, add it very gradually and sparingly. Form it into a disc, cover, and leave in a cool place for 45 minutes – 1 hour.

When you’re ready to make your pasta, flour your work surface. Take 12g of dough at a time, and using your hands roll each piece into long thin strips a bit like grissini, roughly 0.5cm thick. This flour creates a soft, extensible dough so handle the dough fairly gently.  

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, and add salt once it’s boiling. Cook the pici for 5 minutes or until just al dente.

Drain the pasta and return to the pan, add the pesto along with a knob of butter and stir through (chilli flakes are also a great addition). Season with salt and pepper and serve.