Spaghetti alla chitarra with plum tomato sauce, olive paté and basil
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 8
- 60 minutes
Spaghetti alla chitarra literally translates to 'guitar spaghetti' as, traditionally, it is pressed into long, square-shaped spaghetti strands using a stringed chitarra pasta cutter. Here the pasta dough is vacuum sealed and left to rest for a day, a cheffy trick to ensure the dough is smooth and fully incorporated. Andrea Berton pairs this unique homemade spaghetti alla chitarra recipe with a delicious plum tomato sauce infused with basil and Taggiasca olives.
First published in 2016
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Spaghetti alla chitarra
- 750g of pasta flour
- 250g of semolina flour
- 300g of pasteurised egg yolk
- 3 1/2 eggs
- 50g of water
Plum tomato sauce
- 500g of plum tomatoes, chopped
- 50g of fresh basil, chopped
- 50g of extra virgin olive oil, preferably Taggiasca olive
- 10g of flaky sea salt
Olive paté
- 100g of olives, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp chilli, roughly chopped
- 35ml of extra virgin olive oil, preferably Taggiasca olive
- 1 pinch of salt
To serve
- 1/2 bunch of fresh basil, cut into julienne
- basil cress, 1 punnet
- extra virgin olive oil, preferably Taggiasca olive
- salt
- black pepper
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Blender
- Vacuum bags
- Chamber sealer
- Pasta machine
- Chitarra pasta cutter
Method
1
For the pasta, combine all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the egg yolks, whole eggs and water and mix together to form a dough
- 750g of pasta flour
- 250g of semolina flour
- 300g of pasteurised egg yolk
- 3 1/2 eggs
- 50g of water
2
Knead the dough for 5–10 minutes until smooth, then shape into a ball and place into a vacuum bag. Seal the dough in the bag and leave to rest for 24 hours – if you don't have a chamber sealer wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm and leave to rest overnight
3
The next day prepare the tomatoes for the pasta sauce. Arrange the plum tomatoes in a bowl and toss over the basil, salt and oil. Set aside and leave to marinate for 30 minutes
- 500g of plum tomatoes, chopped
- 50g of fresh basil, chopped
- 10g of flaky sea salt
- 50g of extra virgin olive oil, preferably Taggiasca olive
4
Meanwhile, make the olive paté by blitzing all the ingredients together in a blender to form a smooth, slightly chunky paste. Transfer to a dish or container and cover with cling film until required
- 100g of olives, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp chilli, roughly chopped
- 35ml of extra virgin olive oil, preferably Taggiasca olive
- 1 pinch of salt
5
For the pasta, remove the dough from the vacuum bag and flatten it slightly. Roll it evenly through a pasta machine, reducing the thickness setting each time until the dough is 0.5cm thick
6
Cut out sheets measuring 20x10cm from the dough and these slice into long strands of spaghetti with a chitarra pasta cutter. Twirl the strands into individual nests weighing approximately 100g each and dust lightly with flour
7
Blend the marinated tomatoes together until smooth, passing the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the pips and tomato skins
8
When ready to serve, cook the pasta nests in a large pan of boiling salted water for 3 minutes, or until al dente, and drain well through a colander
9
Meanwhile, transfer the blended tomato sauce to a pan and warm through over a medium heat. Stir in the cooked pasta along with the chopped basil and stir to combine, then season generously with olive oil, salt and pepper
- 1/2 bunch of fresh basil, cut into julienne
- extra virgin olive oil, preferably Taggiasca olive
- salt
- black pepper
10
To serve, brush each plate with some olive paté, place a nest of pasta on top and garnish with a few sprigs of basil cress
- basil cress, 1 punnet
First published in 2016
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