Maccheroni alla Chitarra — Guitar Pasta Technique

Abruzzo, with chitarra pasta documented from at least the 19th century. The chitarra (also called maccharunare in dialect) is the defining pasta tool of Teramo province in particular, though used throughout the region.

The chitarra is a wooden frame strung with steel wires — like a guitar — used to cut fresh egg pasta. A sheet of pasta is rolled to the thickness of the wire spacing (about 2-3mm), draped over the strings, and pressed through with a rolling pin until the wires cut the pasta into square-section spaghetti-like strands. The chitarra is the defining pasta tool of Abruzzo and produces a pasta unlike any other: square in cross-section (not round), with a rough surface that grips sauce tenaciously, and a springy, chewy texture from the cutting action.

The square cross-section and rough surface grips sauce in all four channels — per unit length, a chitarra strand carries more sauce than round pasta of equivalent diameter. Combined with lamb ragù's fat and depth, the pasta becomes more than a vehicle: it is an integral part of the sauce architecture.