Maccheroni alla chitarra are Abruzzo's signature pasta—square-cut, long strands of egg pasta made by pressing a sheet of dough through the 'chitarra' (guitar), a traditional wooden frame strung with fine steel wires that cuts the dough into perfectly square-cross-section noodles roughly 2-3mm on each side. The chitarra is one of Italian pasta-making's most ingenious tools: a rectangular frame (roughly 30x50cm) with thin steel wires strung parallel across its width, spaced 2-3mm apart. A sheet of egg pasta dough is laid over the wires and pressed through with a rolling pin—the wires slice the dough cleanly into identical square strands that fall through onto a wooden board below. The resulting pasta has a texture distinct from both spaghetti (round cross-section) and linguine (flat): the square edges catch and hold sauce in their corners, while the four flat surfaces provide more grip than round spaghetti. The dough is a standard Abruzzese egg pasta: semolina flour (or a mix of semolina and tipo 00), eggs, and sometimes a splash of olive oil—firmer and more golden than the soft egg pasta of Emilia-Romagna, with a satisfying chew. The canonical sauce is a ragù d'agnello (lamb ragù) or ragù di pallottine (a sauce with tiny meatballs), both distinctly Abruzzese preparations, though maccheroni alla chitarra are also excellent with a simple tomato sauce or the region's famous peperoncino-spiked aglio e olio. The pasta format is unique to Abruzzo and neighboring Molise, and the chitarra tool is found in every Abruzzese household, typically passed down through generations.
Press egg dough through chitarra for square-cut strands. Firm dough: semolina flour with eggs. Square cross-section catches sauce in corners. Pair with lamb ragù or pallottine (tiny meatballs). The chitarra tool is essential—no substitute produces the same section.
The dough should rest for 30 minutes before rolling—it relaxes and presses more cleanly. Dust the rolled sheet generously with semolina before pressing through the chitarra. Press with a rolling pin in one firm, even motion. The lamb ragù should be made with a mix of lamb shoulder and tomato, simmered until the meat falls apart.
Dough too soft (won't cut cleanly on the chitarra). Rolling too thin or too thick (must match wire spacing). Not flouring the dough before pressing. Using round-section pasta as substitute (different sauce interaction). Over-cooking.
Oretta Zanini De Vita, Encyclopedia of Pasta; Slow Food Foundation