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''Spaghetti alla chitarra'' (), also known as ''maccheroni alla chitarra'', is a variety of egg
A dried variation, without egg, is often marketed as spaghetti or maccheroni alla chitarra both within and outside Italy.
pasta
Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...
typical of the Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
region in Italy, with a square cross section about 2–3 mm thick. ''Tonnarelli'' are a similar pasta from Lazio
it, Laziale
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. ''Ciriole'' is the thicker version of chitarra, approximately twice the thickness of spaghetti. Because the pasta are cut from a sheet rather than extruded through a die, ''spaghetti alla chitarra'' are square rather than round in cross-section.
Origin of the name
The name of this spaghetti comes from the tool (the so-called ''chitarra'', literally "guitar") this pasta is produced with. This tool gives the spaghetti its name, shape, and a porous texture that allows pasta sauce to adhere well to the pasta itself. The ''chitarra'' is a frame with a series of parallel wires crossing it.History and production
The origin of the ''chitarra'' is still not very clear, though a traditional recipe from the province ofTeramo
Teramo (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Tèreme ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo.
The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines (Gran Sasso d'Italia) ...
originated in the early 1800s or even before. It is also claimed that the ''chitarra'' originated from the province of Chieti
The province of Chieti ( it, provincia di Chieti; Abruzzese: ') is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Chieti, which has a population of 50,770 inhabitants. The province has a total population of 387,649 ...
. Before then, pasta was cut with a special rolling pin with notches to obtain its particular shape. Although its origins are from Abruzzo, you can find different versions and names in the southern part of Italy. It gets the name of ''tonnarelli'' in Lazio
it, Laziale
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, ''torchioli'', ''troccoli'', or ''truoccoli'' in Basilicata
it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman)
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and Apulia
it, Pugliese
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, or ''cirioli Molisani'' in Molise
Molise (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Neapolitan, Mulise) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effe ...
.
The dough consists of durum wheat
Durum wheat (), also called pasta wheat or macaroni wheat (''Triticum durum'' or ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''durum''), is a Polyploid, tetraploid species of wheat. It is the second most cultivated species of wheat after common wheat, although ...
semolina
Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well.
Etymo ...
and eggs, with no added salt. It is then worked and, after a rest of about 30 minutes covered, rolled flat with a rolling pin. The dough is then placed on the ''chitarra'' and pushed through with the rolling pin, so that the strings of the "guitar" cut it into strips. Pasta makers from Abruzzo bring down the cut dough by passing their fingers over it, as they would "play a guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
."
In Abruzzo, ''maccheroni alla chitarra'' are most typically prepared with a ragu of pork, beef, and lamb. In particular areas of the Abruzzi (for example Teramo) the traditional condiment is tomato sauce with beef meatballs, so-called ''pallottine''. In Abruzzo, chitarra alla teramana, which is a traditional Abruzzo recipe, is a long thin squared spaghetti pasta served with tiny meatballs (''polpettine''). It is generally a first course meal (''primo piatto'').
A dried variation, without egg, is often marketed as spaghetti or maccheroni alla chitarra both within and outside Italy.
See also
*List of pasta
There are many different varieties of pasta. They are usually sorted by size, being long (''pasta lunga''), short (''pasta corta''), stuffed (''ripiena''), cooked in broth (''pastina''), stretched (''strascinati'') or in dumpling-like form (''gno ...
* Spaghetti with meatballs
Spaghetti and meatballs is an Italian-American dish consisting of spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatballs.
Originally inspired by similar dishes from southern Italy, the modern version of spaghetti and meatballs was developed by Italian immigran ...
References
{{reflist Types of pasta Spaghetti Cuisine of Abruzzo