ViviTortoreto

The Chitarrina alla Tortoretana is a traditional first course which, with its local, noble, fresh and quality ingredients, perfectly represents our locality “of sea and land”. In this exquisite dish, the traditional mixture of macaroni alla chitarra (an ancient recipe from Abruzzo) is enriched and colored with the addition of spinach with the aim of recalling the green of our beautiful hills, while the “venus galina” clam of our fondali, known for its unmistakable scent and its delicious taste, represents the pride of the maritime tradition of Tortoreto, as well as cuttlefish, skillfully fished by our sailors with the characteristic “traps”.

 Ingredients (for 6 people): 

• 600 gr of macaroni alla chitarra verde (with spinach)
• 1kg of fresh “venus galena” clams
• 150gr of clean and fresh cuttlefish
• 1 local tomato
• Extra virgin olive oil from the mill
• 2 small onions (or shallots)
• Garlic
• Vinegar
• Salt
• Chopped parsley

Preparation times 

• Preparation time: 30 minutes
• Clams cooking time: 5 minutes
• Cooking time for cuttlefish 15 minutes

Preparation: 

First, let’s wash the clams: put them in a container full of water and wash vigorously, changing the water several times. In a saucepan, cook 700g of clams, cover it and sauté so that everyone can feel the heat and open (in 2/3 minutes they are ready). Remove the saucepan from the heat, peel all the clams and store them in a bowl (if there is still sand, they can be washed once again). We filter the liquid left in the saucepan and put it aside. Finely cut the peeled and cleaned cuttlefish. 
In a pan, sauté a little oil with a finely chopped onion and clove of garlic for a minute, then add the chopped cuttlefish and a pinch of salt. Let it brown for a few moments and then add a tablespoon of white vinegar, when it has evaporated, pour in the water from the previously filtered clams and cook for 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, add the shelled clams and leave to flavor over low heat to In the meantime, put another saucepan on the heat and fry the oil with a chopped onion and garlic, brown for a minute and then add 300g of whole clams, cover and let it simmer for a few minute. 
When the clams are all open, add a tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley. We filter the cooking water of the clams and put this aside as well. Cut the tomato into cubes and season it with oil, salt and parsley. Cook the macaroni alla chitarra verde in lightly salted boiling water and drain them when they are still al dente. Pour the macaroni into a pan where we have heated the clam and cuttlefish sauce and sauté the pasta for a few minutes by adding the filtered liquid of the clams. At this point we can arrange the pasta on a serving dish and garnish with the diced tomato. 
For spicy lovers, we can also add a little chilli.

( *) Source: Hoteliers Tortoreto