{
  "slug": "umbricelli",
  "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/",
  "name": "Umbricelli al pomodoro",
  "english": "Umbria's thick hand-rolled pasta of flour and water, with a fresh tomato sauce",
  "aka": [
    "umbrichelli",
    "umbrichi",
    "umbricelli with tomato sauce"
  ],
  "summary": "Umbria's thick strands of flour and water, rolled by hand with no egg, tossed in a tomato sauce made on garlic and parsley in olive oil and finished with pecorino; a traditional food product of the region.",
  "essentials": [
    "Soft wheat flour, water and a pinch of salt, no egg: an even dough, rolled by hand into thick strands, with no rolling pin.",
    "The dough rests for half an hour before shaping, and the shaped umbricelli, well floured, rest for another hour before they are cooked.",
    "The sauce: garlic and parsley in olive oil, then peeled fresh tomatoes (or passata), simmered for 15 minutes over a low heat.",
    "Tossed in the sauce for a minute, then finished with grated pecorino, with more at the table."
  ],
  "diet": [
    "vegetarian"
  ],
  "region": {
    "slug": "umbria",
    "name": "Umbria",
    "url": "https://nonnario.com/regions/umbria/"
  },
  "place": "Orvieto",
  "coords": [
    42.718,
    12.111
  ],
  "course": {
    "id": "primi",
    "it": "Primi & Risotti",
    "en": "Pasta & Rice"
  },
  "level": {
    "id": "tradition",
    "name": "Documented tradition",
    "it": "Tradizione documentata",
    "description": "A regional tradition documented in cookbooks and local practice, with no single official text.",
    "url": "https://nonnario.com/method/#level-tradition"
  },
  "status": "checked",
  "published": "2026-11-03",
  "checked": "2026-11-03",
  "cooked": null,
  "pending": null,
  "provenance": {
    "by": "Umbrian tradition",
    "reference": "Compared across 8 sources, listed below; this page publishes the most widely recognised version.",
    "year": null
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Dissapore, food magazine: umbricelli al pomodoro, byline iFood (Italian)",
      "url": "https://www.dissapore.com/ricette/ricetta-umbricelli-al-pomodoro/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Regione Umbria: traditional food product sheet for umbricelli, archived copy of 2006 (Italian)",
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20060226044950/http://www.agriforeste.regione.umbria.it:80/resources/prodotti%20tipici/umbricelli.pdf"
    },
    {
      "label": "Ministry of Agriculture (MASAF): national list of traditional food products, 25th revision, 2025, Umbria no. 62 (Italian)",
      "url": "https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/22781"
    },
    {
      "label": "Agrodolce, food magazine: umbricelli al pomodoro, by Ileana Pavone, 2019 (Italian)",
      "url": "https://www.agrodolce.it/ricette/umbricelli-al-pomodoro-tradizione-umbra"
    },
    {
      "label": "Il Cucchiaio d'Argento, Editoriale Domus: umbricelli alla nursina (Italian)",
      "url": "https://www.cucchiaio.it/ricetta/ricetta-umbricelli-nursina/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Umbriatourism, the Umbria Region's tourism portal: ciriole alla ternana (Italian)",
      "url": "https://www.umbriatourism.it/it/w/ciriole-alla-ternana"
    },
    {
      "label": "MICHELIN Guide Italy: an article on umbricelli and their classic dressings, 2019 (archived copy, Italian)",
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20190820134351/https://guide.michelin.com/it/it/notizia/dining-in/umbricello-del-coccio-elogio-della-tipica-pasta-umbra"
    },
    {
      "label": "USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: Leftovers and Food Safety (archived copy of 29 May 2025)",
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20250529160018/https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/leftovers-and-food-safety"
    }
  ],
  "story": [
    "Umbricelli are thick spaghetti rolled by hand from soft wheat flour and water, with no egg. The Umbria Region lists them among its traditional food products, made across the province of Perugia and in Orvieto, with the dialect names umbrichi, umbrichelli and umbrichelle; the name comes from the Perugian word umbrico, an earthworm, for their long, rounded shape. Made by hand they are about 25 to 30 cm long; pasta workshops also extrude them by machine. They take many dressings: a tomato sauce, grated black truffle, a meat ragù.",
    "There is no official recipe for the dish. We compared the serious sources and publish the most widely recognised version: most dress umbricelli with a tomato sauce made on garlic and parsley in olive oil, and several finish it with grated pecorino; one uses basil instead of parsley, and some add chilli. The dough here follows one documented recipe for four, and the sauce and the finish another. What is ours is the size of the strands, about 4 mm thick, with the length of 25 to 30 cm that the Region gives, and the kneading time."
  ],
  "serves": 4,
  "makes": null,
  "minutes": {
    "handsOn": 67,
    "cooking": 45,
    "resting": 90
  },
  "plan": "About 2½–3 hours, most of it resting. Make the dough (about 15 minutes) and rest it for half an hour; shape the umbricelli (40–60 minutes) and rest them for an hour. Make the sauce during that hour (about 40 minutes, counting the water for the tomatoes), and put the pasta water on about 15 minutes before the hour is up. The umbricelli then cook in 5–8 minutes and go straight into the sauce. Leftover sauce goes into the fridge, in a shallow container, within 2 hours of cooking; use it within 3 days and bring it back to the boil (75 °C) before you use it.",
  "equipment": [
    "Mixing bowl and a large wooden pastry board",
    "Two clean tea towels, and a board or tray for the floured umbricelli",
    "Kitchen scale and a measuring jug",
    "Medium pot, for blanching the tomatoes in plenty of water, and a slotted spoon",
    "Wide frying pan, about 28 cm across, for the sauce and the pasta together",
    "Large pot holding at least 5 l, and a colander",
    "Cheese grater"
  ],
  "ingredients": [
    {
      "group": "For the umbricelli",
      "items": [
        {
          "quantity": 400,
          "unit": "g",
          "item": "soft wheat flour (tipo 0 or 00)",
          "note": "plus more for flouring the strands",
          "text": "400 g soft wheat flour (tipo 0 or 00) (plus more for flouring the strands)",
          "recipe": null
        },
        {
          "quantity": 230,
          "unit": "ml",
          "item": "water",
          "note": "about 200 ml–230 ml: just enough for an even dough",
          "text": "230 ml water (about 200 ml–230 ml: just enough for an even dough)",
          "recipe": null
        },
        {
          "quantity": null,
          "unit": null,
          "item": "salt",
          "note": "a pinch",
          "text": "salt (a pinch)",
          "recipe": null
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "group": "For the sauce",
      "items": [
        {
          "quantity": 4,
          "unit": "pc",
          "item": "ripe vine tomatoes",
          "note": "about 150 g each; or about 400 g of tomato passata",
          "text": "4 ripe vine tomatoes (about 150 g each; or about 400 g of tomato passata)",
          "recipe": null
        },
        {
          "quantity": 4,
          "unit": "tbsp",
          "item": "extra virgin olive oil",
          "note": null,
          "text": "4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil",
          "recipe": null
        },
        {
          "quantity": 2,
          "unit": "clove",
          "item": "garlic",
          "note": "peeled and finely chopped",
          "text": "2 cloves garlic (peeled and finely chopped)",
          "recipe": null
        },
        {
          "quantity": 1,
          "unit": "pc",
          "item": "bunch of flat-leaf parsley",
          "note": "the leaves, finely chopped",
          "text": "1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley (the leaves, finely chopped)",
          "recipe": null
        },
        {
          "quantity": null,
          "unit": null,
          "item": "salt",
          "note": "to taste",
          "text": "salt (to taste)",
          "recipe": null
        },
        {
          "quantity": null,
          "unit": null,
          "item": "black pepper",
          "note": "to taste",
          "text": "black pepper (to taste)",
          "recipe": null
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "group": "To serve",
      "items": [
        {
          "quantity": 50,
          "unit": "g",
          "item": "pecorino, grated",
          "note": "plus more at the table, to taste",
          "text": "50 g pecorino, grated (plus more at the table, to taste)",
          "recipe": null
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "method": [
    {
      "phase": "The dough",
      "intro": "The dough and its shaping follow one documented recipe for four, and the sauce and the finish follow another; the size of the strands and the kneading time are our guide.",
      "steps": [
        {
          "n": 1,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-1",
          "title": "Make the dough",
          "text": "Put the 400 g of flour in the bowl with a pinch of salt. Add the water a little at a time, mixing with your fingers, until the flour comes together into an even dough: you need about 200 ml–230 ml.",
          "kind": "active",
          "minutes": 5,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": "An even, firm dough with no dry flour left in the bowl, and it does not stick to your fingers.",
          "tips": [
            "Add the last of the water only if the dough needs it: too much gives a soft dough, and soft strands sag and stick together."
          ]
        },
        {
          "n": 2,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-2",
          "title": "Knead",
          "text": "Turn the dough out onto the board and work it until you have a smooth, even ball, pushing it away with the heel of your hand, folding it back and turning it.",
          "kind": "active",
          "minutes": 10,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": "Smooth, with no dry spots, and it springs back slowly when you press it with a finger.",
          "tips": [
            "Our guide: about 10 minutes."
          ]
        },
        {
          "n": 3,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-3",
          "title": "Rest the dough",
          "text": "Cover it with a tea towel and leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes.",
          "kind": "rest",
          "minutes": 30,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": null,
          "tips": [
            "Do not skip the rest: the dough relaxes and becomes much easier to roll into strands."
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "phase": "Shaping the umbricelli",
      "intro": null,
      "steps": [
        {
          "n": 4,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-4",
          "title": "Roll the strands",
          "text": "Keep the dough covered and work with a little at a time. Pinch off a small ball of dough, about the size of a hazelnut, and roll it on the unfloured board under your palms, working from the middle outwards, until it is a thick strand, as fat as a big spaghetto. Flour each strand well and lay it on the board or tray, apart from the others, and carry on until the dough is used up.",
          "kind": "active",
          "minutes": [
            40,
            60
          ],
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": "Strands about 4 mm across and 25 cm–30 cm long, round and a little irregular, none touching.",
          "tips": [
            "Our guide: pieces of about 5 g give strands of about that size; this dough makes roughly 120.",
            "Do not flour your hands: the dough slides instead of rolling. If the board is too slippery, wipe it with a barely damp cloth.",
            "For even pieces, roll a piece of dough out 5 mm–8 mm thick, cut it into strips 1 cm wide, cut those into short lengths and roll each one out: this is how the Region's description has them made by hand."
          ]
        },
        {
          "n": 5,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-5",
          "title": "Rest the umbricelli",
          "text": "Leave the floured umbricelli to rest on the board or tray for an hour before you cook them. Make the sauce in the meantime.",
          "kind": "rest",
          "minutes": 60,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": "The surface of the strands has dried slightly and no longer feels tacky.",
          "tips": []
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "phase": "The sauce (while the umbricelli rest)",
      "intro": null,
      "steps": [
        {
          "n": 6,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-6",
          "title": "Put water on for the tomatoes",
          "text": "Bring a medium pot of plenty of water to the boil.",
          "kind": "passive",
          "minutes": [
            8,
            10
          ],
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": null,
          "tips": []
        },
        {
          "n": 7,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-7",
          "title": "Blanch the tomatoes",
          "text": "Cut a shallow cross in the skin at the base of each of the 4 tomatoes and lower them into the boiling water for 5 minutes. Lift them out with the slotted spoon.",
          "kind": "passive",
          "minutes": 5,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": "The skin has split and curls back from the cross.",
          "tips": []
        },
        {
          "n": 8,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-8",
          "title": "Peel, seed and dice",
          "text": "Peel off the skins, cut the tomatoes in half, scoop out the seeds and dice the flesh.",
          "kind": "active",
          "minutes": 5,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": "Small cubes of tomato flesh, with no skin or seeds.",
          "tips": [
            "Out of season, use about 400 g of tomato passata instead, and go straight to the next step."
          ]
        },
        {
          "n": 9,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-9",
          "title": "Chop the garlic and parsley",
          "text": "Peel the garlic and chop it finely; strip the parsley leaves from the stalks and chop them finely too.",
          "kind": "active",
          "minutes": 3,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": null,
          "tips": []
        },
        {
          "n": 10,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-10",
          "title": "Fry the garlic and parsley",
          "text": "Put the olive oil, garlic and parsley in the wide frying pan over a medium-low heat and let them sizzle gently for a couple of minutes.",
          "kind": "active",
          "minutes": 2,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": "medium-low",
          "official": false,
          "check": "The garlic smells sweet and is soft but has not coloured.",
          "tips": [
            "Do not let the garlic brown: it turns bitter. If it starts to colour, take the pan off the heat for a moment."
          ]
        },
        {
          "n": 11,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-11",
          "title": "Simmer the sauce",
          "text": "Add the diced tomatoes (or the passata) and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring now and then. Season with salt and, if you like, black pepper. Take the pan off the heat until the pasta is ready.",
          "kind": "passive",
          "minutes": 15,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": "low",
          "official": false,
          "check": "The tomato has broken down into a loose sauce and the oil shows at the edges.",
          "tips": [
            "If it gets too thick before the pasta is ready, loosen it with a spoonful of the pasta water."
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "phase": "Cooking and serving",
      "intro": null,
      "steps": [
        {
          "n": 12,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-12",
          "title": "Put the pasta water on",
          "text": "About 15 minutes before the umbricelli have finished resting, bring about 4 l of water to the boil in the large pot and add about 40 g of coarse salt.",
          "kind": "passive",
          "minutes": [
            12,
            15
          ],
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": null,
          "tips": []
        },
        {
          "n": 13,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-13",
          "title": "Cook the umbricelli",
          "text": "Shake off the excess flour and drop the umbricelli into the fast-boiling water. Stir once so they do not stick, and cook them until they have risen to the surface and are cooked through.",
          "kind": "passive",
          "minutes": [
            5,
            8
          ],
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": null,
          "official": false,
          "check": "Bite one: cooked right to the centre, with no pale, floury core, but still with some bite.",
          "tips": [
            "Our guide: 5–8 minutes. Rested strands take a little longer than freshly rolled ones, so taste rather than trust the clock."
          ]
        },
        {
          "n": 14,
          "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/#step-14",
          "title": "Toss and serve",
          "text": "Put the sauce back over a low heat. Drain the umbricelli in the colander, keeping back a cup of the cooking water, and tip them straight into the pan. Toss them in the sauce for a minute. Take the pan off the heat, add the 50 g of grated pecorino and mix well. Serve at once, with more pecorino at the table.",
          "kind": "active",
          "minutes": 2,
          "celsius": null,
          "heat": "low",
          "official": false,
          "check": "Every strand is coated in sauce and the pecorino has melted into it.",
          "tips": []
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "quick": [
    "Mix the flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl with about 200 ml–230 ml of water, added until the dough is even; work it into a smooth ball and rest it under a cloth for 30 minutes.",
    "Pinch off small balls of dough and roll them under your palms, with unfloured hands, into thick strands about 4 mm across and 25 cm–30 cm long; flour them well and lay them on the board.",
    "Leave the umbricelli to rest for about an hour before cooking them.",
    "Meanwhile cut a cross in the tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes, then peel, seed and dice them.",
    "Fry the chopped garlic and parsley gently in the olive oil for a couple of minutes, add the tomatoes and simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes; season with salt and pepper.",
    "Boil the umbricelli in plenty of salted water, drain them, tip them into the pan and toss them in the sauce for a minute.",
    "Stir in the pecorino and serve, with more pecorino at the table."
  ],
  "when": null,
  "keeps": {
    "text": "The fresh umbricelli can be made ahead: keep them spread out on food trays in the fridge, at about 4 °C, for 1–2 days at most.",
    "source": {
      "label": "Regione Umbria: traditional food product sheet for umbricelli, archived copy of 2006 (Italian)",
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20060226044950/http://www.agriforeste.regione.umbria.it:80/resources/prodotti%20tipici/umbricelli.pdf"
    }
  },
  "variants": [
    {
      "name": "With passata and basil",
      "text": "A sauce of tomato passata cooked on whole garlic cloves in olive oil for 20–25 minutes, until well reduced; the garlic comes out at the end, a few basil leaves go in, and grated pecorino on top.",
      "source": {
        "label": "Agrodolce, food magazine: umbricelli al pomodoro, by Ileana Pavone, 2019 (Italian)",
        "url": "https://www.agrodolce.it/ricette/umbricelli-al-pomodoro-tradizione-umbra"
      },
      "recipe": null
    },
    {
      "name": "With sausage",
      "text": "Two crumbled sausages, browned in a pan, stirred into the tomato sauce.",
      "source": {
        "label": "Agrodolce, food magazine: umbricelli al pomodoro, by Ileana Pavone, 2019 (Italian)",
        "url": "https://www.agrodolce.it/ricette/umbricelli-al-pomodoro-tradizione-umbra"
      },
      "recipe": null
    },
    {
      "name": "Umbricelli alla nursina",
      "text": "A quicker sauce: garlic and parsley chopped together and cooked in olive oil for 5 minutes, then tomato paste diluted with a ladle of hot water and simmered for a few minutes; grated pecorino on top.",
      "source": {
        "label": "Il Cucchiaio d'Argento, Editoriale Domus: umbricelli alla nursina (Italian)",
        "url": "https://www.cucchiaio.it/ricetta/ricetta-umbricelli-nursina/"
      },
      "recipe": null
    },
    {
      "name": "Ciriole alla ternana",
      "text": "In Terni, hand-rolled ciriole of flour and water are tossed in tomato passata cooked for about 15 minutes on garlic, parsley and chilli, with no cheese.",
      "source": {
        "label": "Umbriatourism, the Umbria Region's tourism portal: ciriole alla ternana (Italian)",
        "url": "https://www.umbriatourism.it/it/w/ciriole-alla-ternana"
      },
      "recipe": null
    },
    {
      "name": "With black truffle or meat ragù",
      "text": "Among the classic dressings for umbricelli: grated black truffle, a meat ragù, or a tomato sauce alla spoletina.",
      "source": {
        "label": "MICHELIN Guide Italy: an article on umbricelli and their classic dressings, 2019 (archived copy, Italian)",
        "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20190820134351/https://guide.michelin.com/it/it/notizia/dining-in/umbricello-del-coccio-elogio-della-tipica-pasta-umbra"
      },
      "recipe": null
    },
    {
      "name": "With durum semolina",
      "text": "The dough can also be made with durum wheat semolina alone, or with two-thirds tipo 0 flour and one-third durum wheat semolina.",
      "source": {
        "label": "Regione Umbria: traditional food product sheet for umbricelli, archived copy of 2006 (Italian)",
        "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20060226044950/http://www.agriforeste.regione.umbria.it:80/resources/prodotti%20tipici/umbricelli.pdf"
      },
      "recipe": null
    }
  ],
  "variantOf": [],
  "usedIn": [],
  "mistakes": [
    "Adding too much water to the dough: it must be firm, or the strands sag and stick together.",
    "Flouring your hands to roll the strands: the dough slides on the board instead of rolling.",
    "Skipping either rest: the dough is hard to roll, and the fresh strands stick in the pot.",
    "Browning the garlic: it is only softened in the oil with the parsley."
  ],
  "abroad": [
    "Tipo 0 and tipo 00 are Italian grades of soft wheat flour; plain (all-purpose) flour is also soft wheat flour.",
    "Vine tomatoes: any ripe, fleshy tomatoes will do; out of season, use tomato passata, as the method allows.",
    "Pecorino is an Italian sheep's milk cheese: buy a piece and grate it yourself."
  ],
  "image": "https://nonnario.com/assets/img/umbricelli.jpg",
  "video": null,
  "versions": {
    "page": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli/",
    "markdown": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli.md",
    "json": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/umbricelli.json"
  },
  "cite": "Cite the recipe's page and the month its sources were checked; for the official text itself, cite the document listed under its sources.",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"
  }
}