Spaghetti and maccheroni alla chitarra

How authentic spaghetti alla chitarra are made

The wooden frame produces spaghetti with a square cross-section of 2–3 millimetres in both width and height. Do not confuse them with tagliolini, which are flat.

The secret is its firmness, due to the eggs and, more importantly, the long manual kneading. The result is a very porous strand that holds its texture during cooking: important characteristics for a lively pasta capable of embracing a good sauce!

In the past it was customary to dissolve saffron into the eggs used for the dough.

How to make pasta alla chitarra at home

Let us see how to make this special pasta at home with the help of a video.

First, of course, you need a “chitarra”; there is plenty of choice in markets throughout Abruzzo.

A video showing how to make spaghetti alla chitarra

• Make the classic mound of flour with a well in the centre and put the whole eggs inside with a little salt. The quantities are roughly 110–120 grams of flour and one egg per person, so for 6 people 700 grams of flour and 6 whole eggs work well.
• Stir with a fork until the dough becomes firm and ready to work by hand.
• Knead until the mass is firm. This is the exercise session, because it takes 35–40 minutes! The quality of the final result is decided here.
• Take the rolling pin and roll the dough into rectangular sheets 2–3 millimetres thick, 60 centimetres long and about 20 centimetres wide. In Abruzzo dialect they are called “pettele”.
• Now the chitarra comes into play: lay the sheet lengthwise over the steel wires and press down with the rolling pin until the pasta is cut.

The classic Abruzzo recipe with pallottine

Because of the type of pasta, maccheroni alla chitarra demand a substantial sauce. In Abruzzo a ragù is made with lamb and pork.

The most famous sauce, however, includes tiny minced-meat balls called “pallottine”; this recipe originated around Teramo.

Let us look at the recipe in detail, again with a video showing the stages step by step.

A video showing how to make the sauce with tiny meatballs

Teramo-style chitarra recipe, assuming the pasta has already been prepared as described above:

• 400 grams of pasta;
• 1,000 ml of tomato passata, preferably homemade;
• 200 grams of veal, 200 grams of pork and 200 grams of lamb;
• 250 grams of minced meat for the pallottine;
• wine;
• 1 egg;
• carrot, celery and onion;
• salt;
• nutmeg;
• pepper;
• cloves;
• Parmesan;
• olive oil.

Make the pallottine by combining the minced meat with Parmesan, one egg and a pinch of salt. The meatballs must be tiny — about half a centimetre in diameter — then floured and fried.

Once drained and rested on kitchen paper, they are stirred into the sauce.

Finish the dish with a sprinkling of Parmesan and some good hot chilli pepper.

And for the second course? Arrosticini, of course :-)

A curiosity: at a traditional Abruzzo wedding you will always find a plate of Teramo-style pasta alla chitarra on the menu.

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