Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Prawns and Sopressata

Here’s another recipe from chef Stuart Kirton from VDG Salumi. You can simplify this recipe by using store bought fresh pasta or even dried. It’s all good! Spaghetti alla chitarra is a type of noodle, made with a special tool called - you guessed it – a chitarra.  It creates square instead of round noodles. I don’t expect you to have one of these laying around so feel free to use regular spaghetti noodles instead. If you aren’t making your own fresh pasta this recipe is a quick weeknight meal that only takes 30 minutes so you can’t go wrong.

Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Prawns and Sopressata

Prep time: 45 minutes + 2 hours inactive
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour + 2 hours inactive
Yield: serves 6

INGREDIENTS           

For the Fresh Pasta

• 400g all purpose flour

• 300 Semolina flour

• whole eggs

• 1 tsp. olive oil

• 1 pinch fine salt

For the Sauce

• 150g shredded sopressata

• 1 clove minced garlic

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 12 prawns, cleaned, rough chopped

• ½ cup fresh corn

• ½ cup chopped chives

• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

• 3 tbsp. good quality olive oil
  
  

DIRECTIONS

If you are making fresh pasta start here! If you are skipping this step, move on to the next section:

Combine dry ingredients “for the pasta” in a bowl and mix. Whisk the eggs and olive oil in a separate container. Add ½ of the egg mixture into flour stirring continuously with a fork.

Once incorporated, add remaining egg mixture, and stir until well combined.

Put contents of bowl onto a clean counter top, and knead for approximately 15 minutes. The dough will be firm and elastic.  Wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.

Portion the pasta into 6 equal parts. Roll through a pasta machine, folding the dough over on itself about 6 times as it gets thinner. Cut using a chitarra, or the spaghetti die on the pasta machine. Keep the dough well floured with all-purpose flour if it’s not being used right away, and freeze it if you’re using it another day. Be sure to cook directly from the freezer if you decide to freeze it.

Start here if you are using pre-made fresh pasta or dry pasta:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (should taste like ocean water).

In a cold, dry pan, add the sopressata and place it over medium heat, stirring regularly. Render the fat out of the sopressata until it begins to crisp up. Remove the pieces of salami, and turn the heat to high. Sear the prawns in the sopressata fat, until cooked then remove the prawns and set aside.

Add minced garlic to the pan, and cook until the garlic just begins to brown then deglaze the pan with the wine and cook until it’s reduced by a quarter. Add the prawns, corn and the sopressata back to the pan and lower the heat to low.

Add the fresh spaghetti to the pot of boiling water, and cook for about 1.5 minutes. If you are using premade fresh or dried pasta, follow the cooking instructions on the package. Remove the spaghetti from the water, and toss in the pan with the sauce, sprinkle olive oil, parmesan and chives into the pan while tossing aggressively. Adjust viscosity of the sauce using the water used to cook the pasta in. Serve while hot!