The Chitarrina with cuttlefish sauce is a very tasty dish I had the pleasure to discover and enjoy in Abruzzo. This pasta is made with an instrument called “chitarra,” a wooden frame with steel wires that have narrower spaces on one side for spaghetti and wider spaces on the other for tagliatelle. Chitarra pasta is cooked throughout Abruzzo, from the sea to the mountains, and is served with mixed meat ragù in the mountains and fish and shellfish sauces on the coast. The cuttlefish sauce is delicious with this pasta and also very simple.
Other chitarra pasta recipes
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 3 People
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Abruzzo
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 562.16 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 60.43 (g) of which sugars 2.98 (g)
- Proteins 36.75 (g)
- Fat 18.35 (g) of which saturated 3.10 (g)of which unsaturated 1.91 (g)
- Fibers 3.81 (g)
- Sodium 1,176.96 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 156 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 2 cuttlefish (cleaned, 1 lb)
- 1 shallot
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 14 oz tomato sauce
- 4 sprigs parsley
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Food Scale
- Cutting Board
- Saucepan
- Pasta Guitar
- Rolling Pin
- Pasta Machine
Steps
Using gloves to avoid staining your hands black and a sharp knife, prepare to clean the cuttlefish. First, use some force to remove the cuttlebone, then remove the ink sac, trying not to break it (you can save the ink in a small bowl with a little water to make delicious noodles or a risotto). Pull and detach the head, remove the entrails, skin, beak, and eyes. Wash thoroughly under running water and ensure there’s no sand in the tentacles. With a sharp knife, slice part of the cuttlefish into thin strips and the rest into tiny cubes. In a saucepan, pour the oil with chopped shallot, whole garlic clove, and as soon as it starts to brown, add the minced cuttlefish. Sauté on high heat for a few minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, then pour in the white wine and let it evaporate. Add the tomato sauce, salt, and cover with a lid. Cook the sauce for 30 minutes on low heat, and once cooked, remove the garlic.
Pour the flours into a bowl, add oil, salt, and lukewarm water. Begin to mix, then pour the dough onto the work surface and knead until you get a not too soft dough ball. Let it rest covered for 30 minutes. After resting, take the dough and roll out the sheet with a rolling pin or pasta machine. The sheet should not be too thin; I go to the 5th notch because once cut, it should be a square spaghetti. Sprinkle the sheet with semolina and using the special tool “the chitarra,” cut the pasta. Simply spread the sheet over the tighter wires and pass the rolling pin over it several times.
As the pasta detaches, it will fall below and be ready. Let it dry on a cutting board and sprinkle it with semolina. Bring water to a boil, add salt, and drop in the chitarrina. Let it cook for a few minutes, drain, dress with cuttlefish sauce, and add a little chopped parsley.
