Tricolor: spaghetti chitarra with tomato, green beans and cacioricotta cheese

Spaghetti alla chitarra with green beans, tomato and cacioricotta is a typical Apulian recipe, which is based on sauteed cherry tomatoes, green beans and a nice sprinkling of cacioricotta. It is also called “il piatto tricolore” (the tricolor dish), since the red, green and white colours present in the ingredients recalls the Italian flag.

It´s a summer fresh dish, to be enjoyed even warm, therefore it´s perfect to be brought to the beach, as the Apulians often do.

Ingredients	Quantity
Spaghetti alla Chitarra	400 g
Tomato pulp	600 ml
Fresh green beans	600 g
Garlic	1 clove
Cacioricotta (salted ricotta) cheese	To taste
Extra virgin olive oil	To taste
Chilli pepper	To taste
Basil	To taste
Salt	To taste

Preparation method

• Let’s prepare the sauce
  • Remove the ends of the green beans and rinse them thoroughly under water; then proceed to boil them in salted water for about eight / ten minutes; Once cooked, drain them with the help of a skimmer and keep them aside.
  • Peel the garlic clove; cut it in two and eliminate the central germ (the most indigestible part of the garlic); crush it with a garlic press and brown it for a few moments in a large pan with a little oil and a few pieces of fresh chilli.
  • Then add the tomato pulp and a cup of water; season with a pinch of salt and a few basil leaves; and cook for about ten minutes over low heat. 
  • When the sauce begins to shrink, add the green beans and other basil.
  • Season them with the tomato, stirring from time to time, and taste everything to check if more salt is needed.

• Grate the cacioricotta with a grater with large holes and keep it aside.
• Cook the spaghetti alla chitarra in abundant salted water and drain them al dente (about 1-2 minutes before the recommended cooking time).
• Add them to the sauce with green beans and tomato, also adding a ladle of their cooking water.
• Let’s keep them for a few minutes, mixing everything carefully.
• Then turn off the heat and continue to whisk the spaghetti by adding a generous handful of grated cacioricotta.
• The pasta with green beans with tomato and cacioricotta is ready: complete by adding, directly to the individual dishes, another handful of cacioricotta and more fresh basil.

Buon appetito!

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• Apulia