Spaghetti alla Chitarra con le Pallottine

By John, 17 February, 2025
Region
Italy
Description

"Chitarra pasta with little meatballs"This version of spaghetti and meatballs comes from Abbruzzo but it is eaten all over Italy. Spaghetti alla Chitarra (say key-TAH-rra) is a long pasta that is traditionally made fresh, then rolled into sheets as thick as uncooked spaghetti and pressed onto a chitarra, a frame with many long closely-spaced parallel wires. The resulting spaghetti is square in cross section. The square chitarra pasta has more surface area than round spaghetti so it holds more sauce.

Spaghetti alla chitarra is served many ways, but one of the most traditional ways is with a simple tomato sauce and tiny meatballs called pallottine.

 

Ingredients
1 lb Spaghetti alla Chitarra
3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1⁄2 Onion (chopped)
1 clv Garlic (crushed)
18 oz Tomato Puree
1 pn Granulated Sugar
2 oz Bread Crumbs
1⁄3 c Milk
3 oz Fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1⁄4 t ground nutmeg
1⁄2 t Salt
1 t Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 lb Lean Ground Beef (or mixed ground beef and veal)
4 T Olive oil
Instructions

  1. Put a pasta pot full of salted water on to boil.

  2. In a skillet over moderate heat, heat the olive oil, then add the onion and garlic.

  3. Cook for 2-3 minutes then add the tomato puree, a half-cup of water, salt and a pinch of sugar.

  4. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

  5. Soak the bread crumbs in the milk, then squeeze out the milk. Add the soaked breadcrumbs to the grated cheese and nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

  6. Mix together the breadcrumb mixture with the meat as well as you can.

  7. Form small balls the size of big olives. You should get about 80 little meatballs.

  8. In a large non-stick skillet heat 4 tablespoons of oil to almost smoking. Cook the pallottine, a few at a time, for 1-2 minutes, stirring them around so the brown evenly.

  9. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water.

  10. When the pasta is al dente, drain it and in a large bowl toss the pasta with half of the tomato sauce. Put it on a serving platter or bowl.

  11. Put the meatballs in the other half of the tomato sauce, stir them gently, then put them on top of the pasta.