Preparing Spaghetti alla Chitarra and Tagliatelle

TÜRKÇE İÇİN TIKLAYIN
PER ITALIANO

Yesterday I published fresh egg pasta dough recipe. Today we will be preparing some "pasta fresca" with that recipe.

Lucia, my mother in law, is not a chef but a marveolus cook. In past she participated into a local competition two years in a row and won three awards with her fabulous recipes. One of them that brought her first prize was "Spaghetti alla Chitarra Abruzzesi con Polpettine" (Abruzzo Style Spaghetti with Small Meatballs) recipe. I will be sharing the entire recipe next days.

We would like to show you today how to make spaghetti alla chitarra. If you don't live in Italy it may be difficult for you to find chitarra pasta cutter (although I saw on internet that they sell it on Amazon) This is why we will also show how to make tagliatelle which is very very easy.

Let me first explain what "chitarra" means.
Chitarra literally means guitar in English.
In Italian the word guitar does not only represents the well known musical instrument but also a kind of pasta cutter. 
This guitar-like device is basically a wooden frame strung with metal wires. Pasta sheets are pressed down onto chitarra with a rolling pin and this way they are cut into spaghetti. I will share videos and also photos to explain better.

Let's come to the ingredients now... 


Ingredients:

Fresh egg pasta dough
Flour

SPAGHETTI ALLA CHITARRA PREPARATION:

• Cut dough into several pieces depending how big your work surface is. 
• Get a piece and flatten with a rolling pin until reaches about the size of a large plate. When/if needed sprinkle with flour while rolling.
• Stretch it into thin sheet with rolling pin as in the video.

• Cut pasta sheet into pieces due to the size of you chitarra pasta cutter. 
• Place a piece of sheet on chitarra, press down with rolling pin and cut into spaghetti. 

• In the video below you can have a closer look at how Lucia is making spaghetti with chitarra, and you can even hear the sound of the "guitar" ! ;)

• Place spaghetti nicely on a tray which is previously covered with paper towel. Sprinkle with a little flour.

• If you won't use your spaghetti right away cover with paper or a clean cloth and store in the fridge.
• Ideally they are meant to be cooked the day they are made but they store well even if prepared the day before.

TAGLIATELLE PREPARATION:

• Cut dough into several pieces depending how big your work surface is. Get a piece and flatten with a rolling pin until reaches about the size of a large plate. When/if needed sprinkle with flour while rolling.
• Stretch it into thin sheet with rolling pin as in the video.

• Coat with very little flour, fold it as in the picture below, cut into tagliatelle strips using a SHARP knife.

• Place spaghetti nicely on a tray which is previously covered with paper towel. Sprinkle with a little flour.

• If you won't use your tagliatelle right away cover with paper or a clean cloth and store in the fridge.
• Ideally they are meant to be cooked the day they are made but they store well even if prepared the day before.

Note: If you want to replace spaghetti alla chitarra with tagliatelle, cut your pasta sheets into thin strips similar to spaghetti.

FYI: Fresh spaghetti and tagliatelle have a short cooking time. They are added into salted boiling water. When the water starts boiling up again (bubbling) check it out, it is very likely that your pasta is cooked.