Chitarra Pasta with Meatballs Teramana Style

Method

1. Prepare the soffritto: finely dice celery, carrot, and onion. Crush a garlic clove and add to the soffritto.
2. Prepare the meatballs: in a bowl, combine ground beef, grated Parmesan, grated Pecorino, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and bread soaked in milk. Mix well and form small meatballs (pallottine).
3. Brown the soffritto in a pot. Add the tomato sauce (preferably homemade bottled tomatoes). Season with salt and pepper. Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for 10–15 minutes over moderate heat until the meatballs are cooked through.
4. If making fresh pasta: roll out the egg pasta dough to a medium thickness and cut it with a chitarra (chitarra pasta cutter). Alternatively, use store-bought tonnarello or tagliolini.
5. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the chitarrina pasta until it floats to the surface (approx. 1–2 minutes).
6. Remove the garlic clove from the sauce. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce and meatballs. Serve with grated pecorino cheese (caciotta di pecora).