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

Ingredients

• For the chitarra pasta
• 400 g 00 flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 pinch salt
• For the pallottine
• 300 g combined beef and pork mince, or with some veal or lamb
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp Pecorino, finely grated
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• to taste salt and black pepper
• For the ragù
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 400 g crushed tomatoes
• as needed olive oil, for soffritto and browning pallottine
• To finish
• to taste Pecorino, finely grated, for the table

Method

1. 1
   Combine the 00 flour and a pinch of salt on a work surface. Make a well and break in the eggs — one egg per 100 g of flour. Work to a smooth, firm dough. Wrap and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. The dough is ready when it is elastic and no longer sticky to the touch.
2. 2
   Roll the rested dough to a sheet of 3–4 mm — the correct thickness for the chitarra. Lay the sheet across the steel wires of the chitarra and press firmly with a rolling pin; the wires cut the dough into square-section spaghetti. Gather the cut pasta and dust lightly with flour to prevent sticking. The strands should be uniform in section with a visibly rough, textured surface.
3. 3
   Combine the mince, egg, grated Pecorino, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Roll pieces of the mixture between the palms into balls of 1 cm diameter or less — the smaller the better. This is where the dish lives or dies: pallottine formed too large destroy the texture ratio entirely and the preparation loses its characteristic delicacy; every ball must be uniform and very small.
4. 4
   Heat olive oil in a wide pan over a medium-high flame. Brown the pallottine in batches — do not crowd the pan. Turn them carefully so that each ball takes colour on all sides. Remove and set aside. The pallottine are ready when they are evenly browned and hold their shape.
5. 5
   In a separate pan, warm olive oil and sweat the finely chopped onion, celery, and carrot over a low flame until soft and translucent. Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce must reduce to a consistency substantial enough to coat pasta; a thin sauce will not hold to the chitarra.
6. 6
   Add the browned pallottine to the tomato sauce and simmer for a further 20 minutes. The sauce is ready when it is thick, deeply coloured, and the pallottine are cooked through.
7. 7
   Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the spaghetti alla chitarra for 3–4 minutes. The pasta is best al dente — it will continue to cook when dressed with the hot sauce. Drain and dress immediately and generously with the ragù and pallottine.
8. 8
   Serve at once with grated Pecorino offered at the table. The sharp, grassy note of the Pecorino is the Abruzzese finish; Parmigiano is not traditional.