Spaghetti alla Chitarra con Pallottine — Guitar-Cut Spaghetti with Tiny Meatballs

Abruzzo — spaghetti alla chitarra (maccheroni alla chitarra) is the defining pasta of Abruzzo, documented from at least the 19th century and described in detail in Abruzzese culinary sources. The pallottine version is the Sunday and festive preparation; weekday chitarra uses a simpler sauce.

Spaghetti alla chitarra con pallottine is the Sunday primo of Abruzzo — the guitar-cut square-section spaghetti dressed with a long-cooked tomato and meat ragù containing pallottine (tiny meatballs, barely 1cm in diameter), made from a mixture of beef, pork, and sometimes veal or lamb, seasoned with Pecorino, egg, and parsley. The chitarra (guitar) — a wooden frame strung with steel wires across which a sheet of egg pasta is pressed and cut — is the defining tool of Abruzzo pasta production. The square-section spaghetti alla chitarra, slightly thicker than standard spaghetti, has a rough, textured surface that holds ragù exceptionally. The pallottine are formed by rolling tiny pieces of seasoned meat between palms — the smaller the better.

Spaghetti alla chitarra con pallottine is a generous, deeply satisfying primo — the square spaghetti holds the tomato ragù in its rough folds; the pallottine, each a tiny concentration of seasoned meat, appear through the pasta like punctuation marks of flavour. The Pecorino grated over at the table adds its sharp, grassy note. It is the Abruzzo Sunday table at its best.