Maccheroni alla Chitarra ("Guitar String" Spaghetti) with Rich Meat Ragù

Maccheroni alla chitarra derives its name from the guitar-like utensil used to cut the pasta into noodles and is a specialty from the Abruzzo region of Italy. Although the English translation is "spaghetti", maccheroni alla chitarra is thicker than normal spaghetti, has square edges, and is traditionally paired with a meat and red pepper sauce. I'd never heard of it before taking this Lost Arts of Handmade Pasta class, but it was a huge favorite among the 16 students (although not my absolute favorite). Since it won the recipe idea vote, I'm telling you about it first, but I promise not to deprive you of my favorite dish from the night either.

If your attention is starting to drift because you don't have a chitarra, and you don't want to buy one because of space, money, or some other reason - fear not. You don't actually need a chitarra to make maccheroni alla chitarra. Interested in making homemade fresh pasta with a KitchenAid roller or another pasta machine? To approximate the function of the chitarra, simply roll it out to the same thickness (⅛-inch), gently roll it up along the short end, then slice it into thin strips with a sharp knife. Or you can simply buy the pasta and skip to the rich and meaty ragù alla Abbruzzese recipe. You don't even need to eat it with pasta. No judgement.

For the curious, the chitarra is an oblong 12-by-16-inch object historically made of birch wood, then strung with taut steel wires run around tiny brass nails at each end of the wooden frame. These wires extend about 1-inch above the wooden frame, enabling fresh pasta to be placed on top of the wires, gently pressed upon with a rolling pin, such that the pasta falls into the space between the wires and the frame. When one end of the pasta becomes stuck, you may gently strum the strings to fully release the strips of pasta into the holding space. Since it's a lot easier to see what a chitarra is rather than read my description, it's a lucky thing I took plenty of photos.

Although the recipe I found for maccheroni alla chitarra from the Food of Southern Italy specifies this pasta traditionally is made with a hard wheat flour (fancy durum or farina di grano duro) not semolina or all-purpose or "00" type flour, in our class we made ours with all-purpose flour. Feel free to use fancy durum flour if you want, but note that the dough will be "hard-to-manage if made by hand", but enjoyable if made with a pasta machine. The proportions between the two recipes are about the same, except when it comes to the eggs. Curiously, I learned that the standard egg size in Italy is an extra-large egg, while in the US, the standard size is a large egg. Our instructor said we should feel free to use either and we used 3 large eggs, while the Italian cookbook I'm referencing calls for 4 large eggs. Use your judgement, but I would guess that with a stronger flour you might want that extra egg.

This pasta dough we learned is a basic fresh pasta dough and we actually used it for 4 of the 5 pasta dishes we made. One of the most useful takeaways was this recipe is a really simple 1-1-1-1 ratio for 1 person. Whoa. 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 egg, and 1 pinch of salt yields enough pasta dough for 1 person. If you want to scale the dough, please note this 3 person batch is the largest standard food processors can handle at one time. If you use a KitchenAid to knead the pasta dough, then you can make enough for 5 in a standard KitchenAid bowl.

Based on what I've read, a rich lamb and tomato ragù is the traditional sauce for maccheroni alla chitarra. Maybe the culinary institute feared that lamb wouldn't be as appreciated by the public? Or maybe it's a very regional thing? Or maybe lamb is more expensive than the other meats in the NYC area? (Yes, it is.) Whatever the reason, this ragù all'Abbruzzese yields a fabulously rich and hearty sauce that would be delicious paired with a wide variety of noodles, from ziti to papparadelle to medium shells. You could also use this sauce as the meat sauce for a lasagna, pair it with zucchini noodles, ladle it over a baked potato or riced cauliflower, or simply eat it warm with a hunk of country bread or foccacia. Your imagination is the limit. People went nuts for this pasta sauce in our class, it was the first of the five dishes to vanish, and all of the dishes were excellent. This one wasn't even the lobster one.

Maccheroni alla Chitarra ("Guitar String" Spaghetti) with Rich Meat Ragù

Fresh pasta is not as difficult as anyone thinks and this hearty pasta sauce requires minimal active time to make. While the dough is resting, you can be making the sauce.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours

Servings: 3 -6 servings

Ingredients

Pasta Fresca (makes enough for 3 hungry people)

• 3 cups 420 g all-purpose flour or 3 ½ cups (1 pound) fancy durum flour
• 3-4 large eggs
• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 pinches ¼ teaspoon salt
• optional: 1 tablespoon spinach or beet baby food as all-natural pasta coloring

Rich Meat Sauce

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 2 dry chili peppers destemmed and deseeded, crushed (or 1-2 teaspoons chili pepper flakes)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground veal
• ½ pound ground pork
• 1 large red onion minced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
• 3 large fresh bay leaves
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes, crushed
• 3 red peppers destemmed and deseeded, cut into thin (1-inch) strips
• 30 sprigs Italian parsley leaves only, chopped
• 1 cup Pecorino cheese freshly grated

Instructions

Pasta Fresca

• In a food processor, pulse the eggs, olive oil, and salt together 8-15 times until the mixture becomes custard-like.
• Add about 1 ¼ - 1 ⅓ cups of the flour, then pulse to combine.
• Continue adding flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough comes together and springs back when you poke it. If the dough still feels quite tacky/sticky, it needs more flour. If the dough starts to come apart and look like little pieces of couscous, gradually add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reform into a soft dough.
• Place the soft dough on a lightly floured board, fold the dough toward you, turn it clockwise by a quarter turn, then repeat this fold and turn approach (it's really just kneading) until you reach the desired smooth and elastic dough stage.
• Let the dough ball rest on a lightly floured surface, covered by a bowl to protect it, for at least 30 minutes.
• While you're letting the dough rest, start your pasta sauce, which is going to take about 60 minutes to fully develop.
• After the resting period, divide your dough ball into 3 equal pieces.
• Place your pasta rollers on their widest setting (typically setting #1). Place a small mound of flour on a cutting board or other flat, clean surface.
• Lightly brush one side of your dough through the flour and gently pass it through the rollers on this wide setting. Lightly flour the bottom of your dough again, then place it on a clean wooden board or other surface. Fold your dough into thirds lengthwise, then press the air out of the folded dough using your finger tips or knuckles, starting from the bottom and working up to the top of the dough. Repeat this process until you regain the smooth and elastic dough you obtained at the end of the first kneading - this took about 8-12 flour-roll-fold-and-press iterations for us.
• When you're ready to move on from kneading with the pasta rollers to stretching, fold your dough one last time so that it is the same width as your rollers. Pass it through the machine on the first setting, then change the setting to number 2. Tap the bottom of the pasta dough sheet through the flour, then pass your dough through the rollers. Decrease the width of the rollers again, flour your dough, and pass it through. Decrease the width of the rollers once more, flour your dough, and pass it through. At this stage, your dough should be ⅛-inch thick. If it's thicker, decrease the width of your rollers again and roll out your dough until it is ⅛-inch thick.
• If you have a chitarra, place the dough rectangle on the chitarra and roll over it with a rolling pin to cut the pasta into square ribbons. If you don't have a chitarra, roll the dough rectangle horizontally, then cut into thin ribbons with a sharp knife.
• Bring a large pot of cold, salted water to a boil. Optionally, add a pinch of chili powder to the water. Cook the fresh pasta ribbons for 2-3 minutes, until al dente. Drain and assemble immediately.

Rich Meat Sauce

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a 4-quart heavy-duty saucepan or dutch oven.
• Add the crushed pepper and ground meat. Stir with a wooden spoon, gently breaking up huge pieces of meat, for about 10-20 minutes or until the meat is well-browned.
• Add the onion, garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves. Continue stirring until onions are tender and translucent, about 10-15 minutes.
• Add the white wine, continue cooking until the wine is almost entirely evaporated. Add the tomato puree and the red peppers, turn the heat down to low, and cook until the peppers are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper, then keep warm or simply continue simmering while you finish with the pasta.

Assembly

• Put half the sauce at the bottom of a large serving bowl. Add the drained pasta, then the rest of the sauce. Garnish with the grated cheese and parsley. Serve immediately with black pepper, salt, and extra chili flakes.

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