''Spaghetti alla chitarra'' (), also known as ''maccheroni alla chitarra'', is a variety of egg

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, ...

typical of the

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region in Italy, with a square cross section about 2–3 mm thick. ''Tonnarelli'' are a similar pasta from

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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 of

Teramo 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'Ital ...

originated in the early 1800s or even before. It is also claimed that the ''chitarra'' originated from the province of Chieti. 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

, ''torchioli'', ''troccoli'', or ''truoccoli'' in

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and

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, or ''cirioli Molisani'' in

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. The dough consists of durum wheat

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. Ety ...

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 string ...

." 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''). Spaghetti alla chitarra con pallottine (Teramo)

Spaghetti alla chitarra con pallottine (Teramo)

A dried variation, without egg, is often marketed as spaghetti or maccheroni alla chitarra both within and outside Italy.

References

{{reflist Types of pasta Spaghetti Cuisine of Abruzzo

Origin of the name

History and production

See also

References