Maccheroni alla Chitarra con Ragù d'Agnello Abruzzese

Ingredients

• For the chitarra pasta
• 300 g 00 flour
• 3 eggs, whole, room temperature
• For the lamb ragù
• 800 g lamb shoulder or neck, bone-in pieces
• 2 sweet peppers (peperoni dolci), charred directly on the flame, peeled, torn
• 400 g tomatoes, crushed or passata
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 pinch saffron, bloomed in 4 tbsp warm water
• 60 ml olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• To finish
• 50 g Pecorino Abruzzese, finely grated

Method

1. 1
   Make the pasta dough. Mound the flour on a board, break the eggs into the centre and work to a firm, cohesive dough — firmer than standard pasta dough; lower hydration is deliberate. Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic, then wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it holds its shape without springing back under a thumb.
2. 2
   Char the sweet peppers directly over an open flame, turning until the skin is blackened on all sides. Transfer to a covered bowl for 10 minutes, then peel, discard seeds and tear into strips. The peppers are ready when the charred skin lifts cleanly and the flesh beneath is soft and smoky.
3. 3
   Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sweat until translucent and soft, without colour. Add the bone-in lamb pieces and brown on all sides — the crust should be deep mahogany before anything else enters the pot.
4. 4
   Add the crushed tomatoes, charred pepper strips and rosemary sprig. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting, cover and braise for 2 hours. This is where the dish lives or dies: the bone-in lamb must cook long enough for the collagen to dissolve and enrich the sauce — at 2 hours the meat should fall from the bone when pressed with a spoon and the sauce will have thickened to a glossy, clingy consistency.
5. 5
   Lift the lamb pieces from the sauce. Remove and discard the bones; pull the meat into coarse shreds and return it to the pot. Bloom the saffron in 4 tablespoons of warm water for 5 minutes, then stir the saffron and its soaking liquid into the ragù. Simmer uncovered for a further 20 minutes. The sauce is ready when it carries a distinct floral, golden warmth that was absent before.
6. 6
   Roll the rested dough into sheets approximately 3 mm thick — the thickness matching the standard spacing of the chitarra strings. Lay a sheet across the chitarra frame. Press firmly and evenly along the full length of the sheet with a rolling pin in a single, deliberate pass; uneven pressure produces irregular cuts. Hold the chitarra over a tray and run a knife along each string to free any strands that cling. The cut maccheroni should be square in section, uniform and separate.
7. 7
   Cook the maccheroni in well-salted boiling water until just tender but with distinct resistance at the centre — al dente. Reserve 200 ml pasta cooking water before draining. Transfer the pasta directly into the ragù pan over medium heat, adding pasta water gradually and tossing until the sauce coats each strand individually and no pooling liquid remains.
8. 8
   Divide among warmed bowls and finish with a generous grating of Pecorino Abruzzese. Serve immediately.