Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Capsicum and Homemade Tuna in Oil | Spaghetti alla Chitarra con Tonno e Peperoni Rossi

The Story

This week we’re bringing you a family classic, a simple and delicious dish that was on regular rotation when I was a kid. Tuna and capsicum pasta can be as straightforward as a couple of capsicums, a tin of tuna, and some dried pasta. Despite this simplicity, or perhaps because of it, it makes for an unexpectedly satisfying meal and a perfect option for a quick dinner.

fresh red capsicums on a chopping board

Now there’s nothing wrong with using some good old tinned fish, but we’re suckers for punishment (and homemade food) so we’ve made our own tuna in oil this week. It’s not truly preserved, but will last in the fridge for around 2 weeks before you should get suspicious of it. So if you come across a good chunk of tuna in your travels, remember this recipe: boil and oil.

Finally, we’re very excited to be featuring our chitarra this week. We actually use it a lot because there’s something special about the pasta edges that it produces. It’s a sharp, right-angled cut that you can’t replicate with a knife or cutter, and it is just so good to munch on. Credit where it’s due, those Abruzzesi sure know how to cut their pasta. Of course, if you don’t own one of these guitar-stringed gadgets, you can substitute with any other long pasta. We often had it with linguine, which has a similar bite.

The Pasta

First off, the tuna! This is as simple as it is rewarding, but if you don’t have 3 odd hours of prep time available grab a tin or two from the cupboard and skip to the next stage. Add the salt into the water and bring to the boil, then trim any skin and dark flesh off the tuna before dropping it in. Lower the heat and gently simmer for 1.5-2 hours, before removing and draining. If you’d like it extra firm, stick it in an airtight container in the fridge over night to completely dry out. Then cut it into large chunks, jar it up, and completely submerge it with oil. As you dip into your tuna supplies over the next fortnight, make sure that it goes back into the fridge each time covered over with oil.

We’re making a similarly simple pasta dough today – pretty much an egg for every 100g of flour. As a quick reminder, we use large eggs for our recipes so if you’re cooking with smaller ones and find that the dough is too dry as it comes together, gradually add water (no more than 1tbsp at a time) until it is soft but not sticking to your hands or work surface. We’d provide our egg measurements in grams, but it’s a little impractical for a simple Sunday pasta, and potentially a bit wasteful. So as always with pasta, start with a recipe, but then feel your way through it!

Once you’ve mixed it all together in your flour well, give it a vigorous knead for 10 minutes and then rest it for 30. Now’s a great time to get those capsicums going. Start the garlic off in the oil, then cut the capsicums into thin strips and add them in with a little seasoning. Cook covered on low heat for 45 minutes.

sauteed capsicum in a frying pan

Back to the chitarra. Tighten up those strings, serenade your lover or bemused toddler, and roll out that pasta dough. We went for a medium-thin thickness (6 on a 9-setting machine) but you can go thicker – this pasta is well suited to it. If you’re on a machine, give it a few turns on the thickest setting folding over itself in between passes, and then incrementally step it through to your final thickness.

Cut the sheets into lengths of around 30cm, lay them across the chitarra, and roll firmly with a pin (the motion is actually more of a drag than a roll). We use an empty, de-labelled wine bottle ourselves to avoid scratching up our rolling pin. As it’s cut, the pasta will drop through onto the tray underneath; once it has all fallen through, just tilt the chitarra on its side, and scoop up all that fine-looking pasta.

If you’re eating immediately, pop it into a large pot of boiling and lightly salted water, and cook until al dente. If not, toss gently with a little flour and refrigerate uncovered for up to one week.

To serve, crumble the tuna into the capsicums, add in the drained pasta (with a little pasta water if needed to help emulsification), and plate it up.

Buon appetito, and see you next time!

– Al & Al.

spaghetti alla chitarra with capsicum and homemade tuna in oil on a chopping board

Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Capsicum and Homemade Tuna in Oil

A family favourite, as simple as it is delicious. Sweet capsicums, salty fish, and firm pasta. It’s cucina povera at its best.
Prep Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: capsicums, Eggs, spaghetti, tonarelli, tuna, tuna in oil
Servings:
Calories: 808kcal

Equipment

  • Chitarra (optional)

Ingredients

Pasta

  • 250 g plain flour
  • 150 g 00 flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
  • 1-2 tbsp water as required
  • Pinch of salt

Tuna in Oil

  • 1.5 litres water
  • 120 g salt
  • 400 g tuna steaks
  • 1 cup olive oil extra virgin

Sauce

  • 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
  • 6 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 kg red capsicums cut into thin strips
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pasta

  • Form a flour well, add the eggs and 1 tbsp of olive oil into the centre, and then use a fork or your hand to bring it together into a loose ball. Gradually add 1-2 tbsp of water if dough is too dry.
  • On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes. If it sticks to your hands or the kneading surface, add flour at a rate of no more than 1 tbsp at a time, and combine thoroughly.
  • Transfer to an airtight container and rest for 30 minutes, out of direct sunlight and heat.
  • Using a pasta machine, roll the dough through on the thickest setting 2-3 times, folding over itself in between passes. Then step up incrementally to a thickness of 6.
    close up of sheets of pasta dough
  • If using a chitarra, cut the pasta into appropriate lengths, lay on top and roll firmly with a pin until all pasta has dropped through. Otherwise cut the pasta into 30cm long sheets, and roll through a machine cutter, or fold and slice by hand.
    close up of a nest of spaghetti alla chitarra
  • Transfer to a lightly floured, baking paper lined tray, and refrigerate uncovered for up to one week.

Tuna in Oil

  • Add the salt to the water and bring to the boil over high heat.
  • Remove any skin and dark flesh from the tuna, and then add to the water. Reduce heat to low, and maintain a gentle simmer for 1.5-2 hours. Remove and drain tuna.
    boiled tuna steaks on a drying rack
  • Optional: if you have the time, allow the tuna to cool, and then refrigerate over night. This will ensure that it is completely dry, and will firm it up.
  • Cut the tuna into 3-4cm strips, and place into clean, dry jars or airtight containers. Fill with oil, ensuring that the tuna is completely submerged. Store sealed and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
    homemade jarred tuna in olive oil

Sauce

  • Gently fry the garlic in 2 tbsp of oil in a large frypan, on low heat, for 5-6 minutes. Do not allow to brown.
  • Add the capsicums, season with salt, and stir. Cover the frypan and cook for 45 minutes, stirring regularly, until capsicums are soft and beginning to brown.
    sauteed capsicum in a frying pan
  • Uncover and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, then add the tuna, breaking it up slightly as you stir it through. Remove from the heat.
  • To plate up, cook the pasta in lightly salted water until al dente (no white dough visible when cut into) and then drain, retaining a cup of the cooking water. Drop the pasta directly into the frypan with the sauce, and add a little of the cooking water if required to assist emulsification. Serve with a a fresh crack of black pepper.
    close up of spaghetti alla chitarra with capsicum and homemade tuna in oil on a chopping board

Notes

Note: The amount of tuna cooked and jarred has been scaled down to suit the rest of this recipe. It takes little more time to prepare a larger amount, which can then be stored submerged in oil and refrigerated for up to two weeks. Substitute this freshly prepared tuna for the same amount of tinned tuna.

Nutrition

Calories: 808kcal | Carbohydrates: 100.2g | Protein: 50.8g | Fat: 23.3g | Saturated Fat: 4.7g | Cholesterol: 213mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 1312mg | Fiber: 6.5g | Sugar: 13.9g | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 9mg
Made this recipe? We’d love to see!Mention @pastaetal or tag #pastaetal!

close up of fresh handmade spaghetti pasta

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Working on our book over this last year or so, I’ve focused on pairing more complicated pasta with simpler sauces, and vice versa. It just allows you to save a little time on one element, and use that to create something special with another.

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5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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fresh red capsicums on a chopping board
close up of spaghetti alla chitarra pasta in a chitarra
angled close up of a nest of spaghetti alla chitarra
fresh tuna steaks on a chopping board
boiled tuna steaks on a drying rack
homemade jarred tuna in olive oil
sauteed capsicum in a frying pan
close up of sheets of pasta dough
close up of a nest of spaghetti alla chitarra
close up of spaghetti alla chitarra with capsicum and homemade tuna in oil on a chopping board
fork twirl of spaghetti alla chitarra with capsicum and homemade tuna in oil on a chopping board
spaghetti alla chitarra with capsicum and homemade tuna in oil on a chopping board
close up of sheets of pasta dough
close up of a nest of spaghetti alla chitarra
boiled tuna steaks on a drying rack
homemade jarred tuna in olive oil
sauteed capsicum in a frying pan
close up of spaghetti alla chitarra with capsicum and homemade tuna in oil on a chopping board
close up of fresh handmade spaghetti pasta
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A speedy batch of last-minute GF gnocchs for tonight, made with a tray of irresistible Purple Congo potatoes 💪🥔

This recipe is in our book and on our blog (although non-GF), but I’m feeling generous…

- 1.4 kg potatoes (floury varieties work best)
- 50 g pecorino Romano, grated
- 300 g GF flour
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Roast the potatoes for 40 minutes at 200°C. Note that here we’re using a purple variety. Once cool enough to handle but still warm, peel off the skins and pass the flesh through a potato ricer. Spread out to allow any excess moisture to evaporate.

2. Next, fold the cheese, flour, egg, and salt and pepper into the potato. Knead for 1–2 minutes before wrapping in plastic wrap and refrigerating for 30 minutes.

3. To shape, roll the dough into a long rope of 1–2 cm in diameter; chop into pieces of the same length.

4. You can either leave them as is, poke a hollow in each with your thumb, or use a finger to drag them along the length of a gnocchi board. Apply gentle downward pressure as you go, allowing the gnocchi to wrap slightly around your finger.

5. Cook until they float (boiling, salted water), and then enjoy!

Nonna, if you’re reading this, I promise we’re leaving now 💜

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Although we have a huge variety of pasta shapes on rotation, malloreddus has always been one of little Al's top two 🏆 

These are made with dark rye and wholemeal spelt flours (and warm water), rolled into thin ropes, cut into short lengths, and formed with a bench scraper against a gnocchi board. 

PS. We normally start with a ratio of very roughly 1:1.6 water to flour (ie. to serve four, 360 g flour to 220 ml water), but some flours are thirstier than others, so be prepared to add more water or flour as you go. You want your pasta ropes just moist enough to grip the board without sticking 👌 

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✖️Tomato Day 2025!✖️ 

Exported from Calabria in the 50s, alive in Perth seven decades later 💪🍅 

And basically the main reason we bought a house with excessive expanses of concrete. 

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Every family seems to do Tomato Day differently, and we'd probably all say the sauce tasted wrong made any other way. But for us... 

Tomatoes are sorted and washed, then cored, before being layered in salt. This is normally done in a draining crate, with tomatoes wrung out in clean sheets to remove as much water as possible. This is probably the most time-consuming part of the whole day, and starts before sunrise with a pot of strong coffee!

From there, we start passing them through the machine, which produces a strained juice and a whole heap of pulp. That pulp goes through 1-2 more times to extract every last bit of goodness. 

While that's happening, all bottles are cleaned and dried in the oven to sterilise them (this year this was actually done in advance, sealing the tops until Tomato Day), and a couple of fresh basil leaves are dropped into each. 

Then it's all bottled and loaded into giant pots over giant gas burners (replacing the old 44 gallon drums over wood fires), with hessian sacks and towels packed in to stop them rattling against each other. 

Once at the boil, they stay on the heat for around three hours, then are left to cool in their pots overnight. And then, in the morning, tomatoey glory! 

Who else is still doing Tomato Day?

PS. You can get all of that as a proper recipe on our blog now (link in bio) 🍅

#pastaetal #tomatoday #passata #tomatosauce #homemadetomatosauce #salsa #australiantomatoes #traditionalfood #pastafresca #littlehands #kidscook #kidsinthekitchen #littlechef
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It's not really about the tomatoes ❤️

A little recap of Tomato Day 2025 is up on our blog now. Link in bio 🍅

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Tomato Day 2025 🍅

After a week spent tidying the garage and hosing down the concrete, we've smashed out another year's worth of tomatoey goodness. And here are some pics!

Left to right: kicking off just before sunrise; coring tomatoes on the old milk crates; our esteemed triumvirate supervising us over morning tea; the boys in charge of the machine; bottling the passata; the operation in full swing.

Shout out to @napoli_mercato for the pomodori 🙏

You can read more on our blog (including the recipe)! Link in bio ❤️

#pastaetal #tomatoday #passata #tomatosauce #homemadetomatosauce #salsa #australiantomatoes #traditionalfood #pastafresca #littlehands #kidscook #kidsinthekitchen #littlechef
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Tomorrow must be Tomato Day 🕺🪩🍅

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Little throwback to these cocoa-spiralled fagottini, filled with smooth ricotta and roasted walnut paste ꩜
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The bits and pieces from our grain-free and dairy-free gnocchi: broccoli pesto, and fried breadcrumbs 🥦

For the pesto (serving 4), simply blend up 1 large head of blanched broccoli, 1 large handful of basil, 40 g of pine nuts, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 big tbsp of nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp of pumpkin seeds, the juice of half a lemon, and 200 ml of extra virgin olive oil, seasoned to taste 👌

And the breadcrumbs (grain-free 'breadcrumbs') are just gently fried, then mixed through chopped parsley and crushed pink peppercorns.

Full recipe up on our blog (link in bio)!

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Our littlest pastaio busting out some of this week's gnocchi 😍 

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✖️Grain-Free & Dairy-Free Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Broccoli Pesto✖️ 

The past few years have been a wild family ride through chronic health issues, and we’re still just doing what we can to hang in there. Although I’m the main culprit behind our current dietary requirements, pasta night has evolved by necessity to include three different pasta doughs and at least two sauces (an every-burner-on-the-stove kind of situation). 

We’ve had great success adapting everything to GF (as you would have noticed in recent posts), and dairy-free is not too hard either (choking back your tears at not being able to drink grated pecorino straight from the bag when no one’s looking), but grain-free is a little trickier… 

So we’ve made things easier for ourselves by adding gnocchi to the menu! As long as nightshades (or things that grow underground if you’re staring down mould-free/low-amylose diets) are not causing you any problems, potato is your friend. This recipe does include nuts, for the flavour more than anything else, but you can easily substitute it with more of the other dry ingredients. 

These gnocchi use a mix of potato, almond flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, egg, nutritional yeast, and xanthan gum (with the usual oil, salt, nutmeg). They’re not too heavy, have a nice chewiness to them, and fry up perfectly. Served with a simple broccoli pesto and grain-free breadcrumbs 👌 

I do want to stress that I’m not recommending any particular diet, just providing options. For me, it’s been a long adventure through countless doctors’ offices, hospitals, pathology labs, etc that’s brought me to this point. I think we’ve all come far enough now to know that GF is not a fad or tied to any one diagnosis, allergies are diverse and debilitating, and the only way that we should ever receive anyone’s ‘unusual’ food order is with compassion. I hope that these kinds of recipes make life a little easier or more interesting for someone out there, and are just as delicious for everyone else! 

You can find the link to the full recipe in our bio 🍝 

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Cheeky batch of capps 👀

To make these guys, start with a zig-zag edged square of around 6-8cm, drop a dollop of filling into the middle, and then fold in half to form a triangle. Poke the inner edge of the filling to create a dimple, and then bring the outer corners of the triangle around to slightly overlap. Pinch the overlap to seal in place 👌

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A little afternoon arrangiarsi. We had a heap of almost-finished flours in the cupboard, so this Sunday’s pasta is spaghetti made from Khorasan, spelt, two different wholemeal ryes, wholemeal baker’s, and a gluten-free mix (maize, rice, tapioca). Yes, @fortytwocakes is a baker.

We turned to our trusty KitchenAid for this one. As usual, there’s no real recipe, though it is based on the extruded pasta recipe from our book. So for four people, that’s 560 g of flour, 180 ml of water (measured on top of two whole eggs), and a teaspoon of salt. Note that with all of these wholemeal flours, we added a fair bit more water until it clumped together like buttered breadcrumbs.

I may have tried the odd piece of raw pasta, and can confirm it’s delicious. Now all packaged up and ready for lap-transport to Nonna’s, where we’ll be serving it with a carbonara sauce featuring some sneaky frozen Christmas ham leftovers… 🍝

#pastaetal #arrangiarsi #spaghetti #wholemealpasta #pastashapes #homemadepasta #pastamaking #pastaia #pastaio #pastafresca
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✖️Cocoa-Striped Cappellacci✖️

A fun favourite, filled with a simple mix of cheeses and potato. Perfect in a light butter sauce 👌

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When simple is best 👌 

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✖️Dark Rye and Rosemary Sorpresine✖️

One of our most delicious doughs yet! This was 50% dark rye flour, a blend of maize, rice, and tapioca, and finely chopped rosemary mixed throughout. Served up in a simple minestra, straight out of the book (page 103)👌

It’s tricky weather for pasta making in Perth at the moment. Due to the heat (or air-conditioning blasting away to counter the heat), pasta sheets are drying as soon as they hit the board! So it’s all a mad rush of cling wrap, tea towels, and water spritzing (these ones needed a dab of water on every square). What are you all cooking up as 2024 comes to an end?

Incidentally, we’ve had a few queries about cutters lately. This fantastic brass cutter is one of my favourite pasta tools, and (if you’re in AUS/NZ) you can pick one up in our store. They’ve been selling fast over Christmas, so get in now! Link in bio or via this post 😊🍝

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🎄🍝❤️⁣⁣
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#pastaetal #happyholidays #christmaspasta #christmas #festiveseason #buonnatale #ravioli #farfalle #garganelli #corzetti #agnolotti #cappellacci #caramelle #fagottini #funghetti #pastaia #pastaio #pastafresca #acquafarinamarcato #agfg #cookgoodfoodau #feedfeed #f52home #buzzfeast #makeitdelicious #foodblogfeed #forksnroses #foodartblog #chefsalert
42°C and the ravs are rolling. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas... ☀️🍝 

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Garganelli with our littlest pastaio 💪

This tasty dough is half light rye, with a blend of maize and tapioca starches, and rice and maize flours.

Counting down to festive pasta…

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