The pallottine go into the sauce raw and poach there, so they stay tender and the tomato takes on the flavor of the meat; keep them marble-sized, because the pleasure is catching several in one forkful. Lamb alongside the beef gives the sauce a gentle pastoral note. Cook the chitarra for only 2 to 3 minutes: the square strands should keep a firm core.
Make ahead The sauce with its pallottine keeps well for a day in the fridge and reheats gently, so you can spend the day itself on the pasta.
Spaghetti alla Chitarra con Pallottine
Prep 1 hr · Cook 1 hr · Rest 30 min · Serves 4 · Difficulty Medium
Method
Knead flour and eggs into a firm dough; rest 30 minutes wrapped.
40 min
Mix lamb, beef, beaten egg, breadcrumbs, half the Pecorino, salt, and pepper. Roll into pallottine no bigger than a marble; cold hands help.
25 min
Soften the onion and garlic in the oil with the chile; add the tomatoes, crushing them, and the basil. Simmer 15 minutes.
18 min
Slide the pallottine raw into the simmering sauce and cook gently, uncovered, until tender and the sauce has thickened, about 25 minutes. Do not stir for the first 10; shake the pan instead.
25 min
Roll the pasta to the thickness of the chitarra strings’ gap, lay each sheet on the chitarra, and press through with the rolling pin. (No chitarra: roll and hand-cut square-edged spaghetti.)
20 min
Boil the chitarra in well-salted water, 2 to 3 minutes; it should keep a proud core.
3 min
Toss the pasta with the sauce in the pan, pallottine folded through, loosening with pasta water. Serve with the remaining Pecorino.
2 min
Kitchen notes
Marble-sized means it. The charm of pallottine is eating five in a forkful. Anything bigger than a marble becomes a meatball dish from somewhere else.
Poach, don’t fry, the pallottine. Many Teramo kitchens fry the pallottine first, then let them finish in the sauce; this version skips the fry and slides them in raw, which keeps them tender and lets the sugo drink the meat. Both are authentic Teramo practice, just choose the one you are making.
The same chitarra carries lamb ragù bianco with rosemary in the mountains; keep the pasta, swap the sauce, and you have toured half of Abruzzo.
