Maccheroni alla Chitarra · Maccheroni alla Chitarra al Sugo d'Agnello
Abruzzo · pasta · serves 4 · 180 min total · medium
The chitarra is a wooden box strung with steel wires like a guitar — invented in 19th-century Abruzzo as the family pasta tool.
Ingredients
- 400 g semolina rimacinata
- 4 eggs eggs
- 600 g lamb shoulder, diced
- 500 g tomato passata
- 200 ml red wine
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 chilli red chilli (Abruzzese diavolicchio)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 80 g Pecorino di Farindola
Method
- Dough: pile semolina, well, eggs and a pinch of salt. Knead 10 minutes until firm. Rest 30 minutes.
- Roll into sheets the thickness of the chitarra wires. Lay on the chitarra (the wire-strung wooden frame) and press through with the rolling pin — the pasta drops as square-cut strands. No chitarra? Cut by hand on a board into square spaghetti.
- Sauce: brown lamb in olive oil with garlic and chilli. Add onion and rosemary, sweat 10 minutes.
- Deglaze with red wine. Add passata. Simmer 90 minutes low, until the meat falls apart.
- Cook pasta 3 minutes (fresh). Toss in the lamb ragù.
- Plate, shower with grated Pecorino di Farindola.