The Original Spaghetti and Meatballs (Are Teeny Tiny)

Get the recipe for The Original Spaghetti and Meatballs (Pasta alla Chitarra con Pallottine) here: https://bit.ly/3Cfbj3x

And 125 more fabulous Italian recipes in our new book, “Backroads Italy.” Now on preorder: https://bit.ly/3Cd8zDW

Our editorial director J.M. Hirsch was hellbent of seeking out these teeny tiny meatballs for our new book “Backroads Italy”—so great was the allure to learn the origins of spaghetti and meatballs. So, in towns across the Abruzzo region in central Italy, he learned to make its ancestral dish: pasta alla chitarra con pallottine.

There are a few intriguing twists to the meatball story. For starters, culinary historians generally credit New York’s Italian community with marrying large, Neapolitan-style meatballs to pasta. Golf ball-sized meatballs would be more attainable with more wealth (and meat). Then, it’s generally meatballs on spaghetti is an Amercan thing. In Italy, pasta is typically primo, and meat—including marinara-drenched meatballs—are secondo (the main).

Abruzzo’s fresh-made pasta and tiny meatballs (pallottine) defy this narrative, and, in our opinion, they make a lot more sense than giant meatballs. They cook quickly, long enough to infuse the sauce with meaty flavor but briefly enough to remain tender and succulent, rather than dried-out. The starchy pasta married to the sauce for evenly-coated noodles, and the bite-sized meatballs were evenly distributed throughout.

If this looks good, tap the link in bio for our new book “Backroads Italy”! You’ll find this and 125 other recipes from Italian home cooks and off-the-beaten path eateries.

“Backroads Italy” on Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/40z6iMp
“Backroads Italy” on Hachette: https://bit.ly/4hiYa8A
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