Thursday, February 25

Ambling About Abruzzo   --  Only $22.99!!!

Il menu tipico della Regione Abruzzese

Primo piatto: ceci e verdure  (chick peas, greens, and olive oil)

Secondo piatto: spaghetti alla chitarra al sugo di agnello ("guitar" spaghetti with lamb ragu)

Dolce: cicerchia e gelato (fried dough balls with honey, nuts and homemade ice cream)

Strumming the Chitarra in L’Aquila:

 I have had a particular affinity for the Abruzzese for quite some time. This is a region that, when visited, you feel as though you have taken a step back in time. Things seem simpler. Handmade products are still produced day in, and day out; the afternoon “siesta” is closely abided by and age-old traditions are staunchly followed. Please don’t mistake this brief description as a “knock” on this region, and, specifically L’Aquila (Abruzzo’s capital city) for the purposes of my travelogue. Quite the contrary.

 Abruzzo is to the east of Rome and only a short train ride over. While doing genealogy years back, we found that we actually have some family ties to this particular region. Naturally, it was the impetus to checking out this area. I had never heard of it before in any family gatherings and figured it a distant area. So we threw a quick day-trip in the plans on a not all that long-ago trip to Rome. (As a side note, we thankfully got to see L’Aquila before the devastating earthquake last year.)

 Surprisingly, the train ride was fairly empty and very quick right out of Rome. We left early like usual. The only problem with leaving early to go anywhere in Italy, is that the country does not wake up until 9:00, so we had to settle for train station caffe. Regardless, we really weren’t feeling inspired anyway by this city as we just didn’t hear anything. I was sure it would be a nice, relaxing day with perhaps a dash of boredom mixed in. Either way, it’s always an interesting experience seeing where some of your family members have come from. Anyone who has done genealogy can empathize with the sentiments of doing this.

Now, typically I would try and build up some semblance of suspense in this article, but not this time. We had no particular expectation going there, just a mild amusement. My wife and I disembarked the train and were immediately greeted by small, neighborhood-feel. We timed it perfectly to peruse a local market - typical Italian-style being outside with make-shifts tents.

The difference with this market, and from my experience here, is perhaps encompassed by the word tradition. There were no tee-shirt venders, or tourist stops from what we saw. It was the off-season so not a lick of English was spoken.

There were the usual fruits, vegetables, and lots of beans, but it was the old-fashioned cooking utensils and products there that amazed me. These are relics that no one sees in America, nor did we see in other previous trips to Italy. But these are tools that families use every day here. Being a pasta aficionado I was in heaven. Dare I say we spent two hours in just this small, local market. Naturally, we did not have our camera and we did not bring bags to buy any thing - we just weren’t expecting much.What a mistake. I have not come across a selection of pasta tools like the ones that were on display here again. Most disappointingly, I saw a pasta tool that was kept, and used, in my great aunt’s house. I noticed it immediately because as a kid, my brother and I always played with it thinking it just a guitar. We of course got caught “picking” (it’s not quiet, and it does not sound like an acoustic) and were promptly yelled at chased by her. Well, it was not a guitar specifically, although it is called a “chitarra” (Italian for guitar), it’s one of the oldest known pasta instruments in the history of pasta. The one I was touching, and later strumming in L’Aquila, looks, feels, and sounds exactly the same as my aunt’s.

This was one of those moments where you realize how certain senses can immediately draw you back to a moment of your youth. I had not thought of getting in trouble for touching the chitarra in a number of years. It took but one touch of the wires and the unremarkable vibrating sound that bellowed out took me right to the basement in Quincy. I pictured the whole scene and even heard her yelling “non toccare!” - just like the sign said on the vendor’s table. I had a vague understanding of what the chitarra was used for as a child, but it was this moment where I truly understood how important this one pasta instrument is. It’s a story-teller and a mouth-piece for the hundreds of years of pasta making in this region (and now beyond) and a reminder that sometimes we need to go backwards before we move forward.

There has not been another city that I have visited that preached that mantra more than L’Aquila. Perhaps we all need to slow down a bit and have moments similar to the above to remember what it is that we value. It’s not that L’Aquila does not understand that large factories are able to produce large amounts of pasta because they have them there - L’Aquila seems to recognize the future without tossing aside the past. I hope when you enjoy the spaghetti alla chitarra on Thursday night, I’m able to provide you a glimpse into the storied history of pasta, and maybe even a memory or two of slurping up spaghetti in your youth.

--
Tim O'Brien
Ancora Pasta - pasta fresca fatta a mano
On Facebook: Ancora Pasta
Blog: il pettine ed il ferretto