Penne strascicate

Penne strascicate is a traditional pasta dish originating from Florence. This ancient peasant dish is made with a combination of penne pasta, ragù Toscano, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Penne are semi-cooked in salted boiling water and drained, while some of the cooking water is reserved for later.

The pasta is added to the Tuscan meat sauce (usually consisting of beef, sausage bits, tomatoes, wine, olive oil, onions, carrots, and celery) in a big pan. The pasta is finished in the pan with the meat sauce while being continuously stirred and tossed in order to avoid sticking to the bottom.

The reserved cooking water is used to loosen the sauce. Near the end of cooking, grated cheese is added to the dish and it's served immediately. The word strascicate in the name of the dish means to drag and refers to the action of dragging a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan.