Fregnacce, the original recipe

Fregnacce are a type of pasta similar to cannelloni typical of central Italy. Let's see all the steps to prepare them and what they get their name from.

Fregnacce are a type of pasta typical of central Italy , in particular of the area between Marche and Abruzzo , the two regions that dispute their paternity. They have ancient origins although the recipe for the rubbish we know today is very different from the one our ancestors used to consume.

This typical dish is made up of square sheets of egg pasta , boiled in boiling water and then served with a ragù -based filling. But be careful not to call them cannelloni or someone might get offended! The important thing is to enjoy them as soon as they are made, when they are still hot. The choice is yours whether to put them back in the oven or not.

• Recipe
• Conservation
• Origin and history
• Variants

How to prepare the recipe for fregnacce

1. First, cook the ragù (it is not the classic Bolognese ragù but a simplified version). Chop celery, carrot and onion to make the sauté and brown them in a pan with the oil. Add the meat and, after having browned it too, the tomato puree . Season with salt and pepper and leave to cook for an hour .
2. In the meantime, prepare the pasta. Combine the flour in a bowl, make a well and place the eggs in the centre. Knead first with a fork and then by hand to obtain a smooth dough.
3. Roll it out with a rolling pin until it is a couple of millimeters thick and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then cut 20cm squares .
4. As soon as the ragù is ready, keep it warm and boil the sheets in plenty of salted water for 5 minutes. Drain them and pass them first in cold water to stop the cooking and then on a cloth to dry them.
5. Spread a layer of ragù on each one, then roll them up and, as they are ready, transfer them to a baking dish. Cover them with the remaining ragù, a sprinkling of pecorino and bake for 5 minutes in the oven at 180°C. Serve them piping hot.

There are more than one difference with the classic meat cannelloni : first of all , here the filling is distributed over the entire pasta and then rolled up, while in cannelloni a single strip is usually formed. Secondly, the fregnacce do not have bechamel sauce and it is not mandatory to put them back in the oven . Just fill the hot pasta and bring everyone to the table immediately, completing with a little ragù and pecorino.

Conservation

The rubbish will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, well covered in cling film. We recommend heating them in the oven or microwave before serving them.

Origin and history of bullshit

The term frignaccia means nonsense, nonsense . But what does it have to do with this delicious pasta dish? To find out, we need to take a dive into the past (although it's not clear how far back) when the consumption of meat was reserved for the wealthier classes. The housewives then worked hard to make these lie-cannelloni : the filling did not include meat but poorer ingredients such as pecorino, pepper and oil .

The egg pasta was then rolled out, seasoned with a sprinkling of pecorino cheese, ground pepper and a little oil and then rolled up on itself. In short, originally the deception was there while today this "ancient" variant is an excellent vegetarian alternative . Enrich it with slices of truffle and it will have nothing to envy of that of meat.

Fregnacce: the most famous variations

When we talk about nonsense we actually mean two different pasta shapes. In some cases, like the fregnacce with sauce we have just seen, a sort of cannelloni, while in others a format more similar to maltagliati. Unlike these, however, they are larger and, although today they are egg-based, they were originally made with water and flour.

• Fregnacce alla Sabinese : in this case the format is that of maltagliato seasoned with a sauce based on tomato, olives and mushrooms, slightly spicy and flavored with pecorino cheese.
• Fregnacce alla Rieti : always maltagliati seasoned with a sauce based on chopped bacon (or lard), tomato and onion finally flavored with pecorino and sometimes flavored with marjoram. In Montasola, in the province of Rieti, the Fregnaccia festival is held every year.
• Fregnacce alla persa : marjoram is always the protagonist of the dish. Here the pasta is simply seasoned with an oil and garlic base scented with this particular aromatic herb, called persa in dialect. In Castelnuovo di Farfa (Rieti), every year the festival of fregnacce alla persa is held.
• Fregnacce alla norcina : a rich first course based on sausage, onion and cream flavored with truffles, a bit like pasta alla norcina .
• Fregnacce alla teramana or all'abruzzese return to being similar to cannelloni and seasoned with a simple sauce based on tomato, onion and slightly spicy basil and flavored with pecorino.

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