Fresh Spaghetti alla Chitarra
Traditional Abruzzo square-cut egg pasta pressed through taut steel guitar strings on a wooden frame: rich dough, rolled sfoglia, and musical arpeggio release.
Everything You Need
Tipo '00' flour, farm egg yolks, sea salt, and semolina rimacinata for dusting the chitarra.
Flour Fountain & Gentle Yolk Whisking
Sift Tipo '00' flour onto the raw wooden board, create a wide volcanic crater, and pour in rich golden egg yolks. Gently whisk yolks with a fork, pulling in fine flour from the inner crater walls.
Never Use Cold Eggs
Room-temperature egg yolks blend effortlessly with flour proteins, ensuring a cohesive and supple dough.
Bench Spatula Chopping & Dough Aggregation
When the yolks become a thick paste, use a bench spatula to fold the outer dry flour over the mixture. Rapidly chop and flip until the mass forms shaggy, golden dough crumbles.
Clean Board, Clean Hands
The spatula prevents sticky dough from adhering to your palms early on, keeping the moisture inside the mass.
Hand Kneading & Pirlatura Ball
Gather the crumbles with the heel of your palms and knead vigorously on the wooden board for 8–10 minutes. Shape the dough into a taut, silky sphere using circular pirlatura motions, then cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Crucial 30-Minute Rest
Resting relaxes the elastic gluten mesh. Without it, rolling a thick, dense sheet for the chitarra strings would be nearly impossible.
Rolling Sfoglia to Chitarra Gauge (~2.5 mm)
Dust the rested ball with semolina and roll outward with a wooden rolling pin. For authentic square-cut chitarra, keep the sfoglia noticeably thicker than tagliatelle — aim for precisely 2.5 mm to match the space between the wires.
Match Sheet Thickness to Wire Pitch
The defining hallmark of Spaghetti alla Chitarra is its 2.5 x 2.5 mm square geometry. If rolled too thin, ribbons become flat tagliolini rather than sturdy chitarra strands.
Laying Sfoglia on Strings & Pin Pressure
Generously dust the steel strings with semolina rimacinata. Lay the trimmed rectangular sheet over the wires, then firmly roll a short mattarello across the sheet until the taut steel wires slice entirely through the pasta.
Listen to the Crisp Snap
Roll the pin back and forth evenly from the top to bottom edges. You will feel and hear the distinctive metallic chime as each string snaps through the dense egg sheet.
Acoustic Arpeggio Strumming & Fresh Nests
Strum your fingertips across the steel strings like an acoustic instrument — the vibration releases every single square strand onto the wooden chute below. Gather the cascading ribbons and twist them into a pristine pasta nest.
Cook in 90 to 120 Seconds
Fresh Spaghetti alla Chitarra cook in just 1.5 to 2 minutes in boiling salted water. Their porous, wire-cut edges grab emulsified butter and seafood sauces like magic.
