Bucatini all'Amatriciana

• 5 minutes to prepare • 20 minutes to cook • Serves 4

Amatriciana.

 

The amatriciana is a pasta recipe that takes its name from Amatrice, a town close to Rieti.

The main ingredients are Guanciale bacon, pecorino cheese and tomato. It is listed among traditional food products of Lazio.
The ancestor of the amatriciana is la gricia, which is still known as a sort of amatriciana without tomato (although it differs for some ingredients).
The invention of tomato sauce dates back to the end of the 18th century: the first written testimony of the use of tomato sauce to season pasta may be found in the Apicio Moderno cooking manual, written in 1790 by the Roman chef Francesco Leonardi. In the 19th century the popularity of the dish grew considerably in Rome thanks to the close contacts between Rome and Amatrice. At that time several hosts of Rome were originally from Amatrice, so that the term Matriciano became a synonym of inn with kitchen. 

The Amatriciana was very welcomed and - even if born elsewhere - was quickly considered a classic of Roman cuisine.
Enjoy the classic!

Here are ingredients for the 4-serving recipe:

 

400 g Bucatini pasta
1 kg San Marzano plum tomatoes
100 g Guanciale bacon - chopped
100 g Pecorino cheese
1 dry chili pepper
1/2 glass dry white wine
EVO oil
salt

1. Wash tomatoes and cut them into chunks. Dump them all - cores, skins, stems, seeds - into a pot filled with water, and set over high heat until they come to a boil. Let them boil for 5 minutes, just long enough to soften the pulp, then drain them
2. Make the tomatoes to pass through a food mill or vegetable strainer. The food mill, a simple, old-fashioned tool, is an easy and efficient way to strain seeds and skins from tomato purée. In Italian the watery, fresh tomato purée you will obtain is called a passata ("passed")
3. Pour 2 tablespoons of EVO oil in a pan and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the pepper and the Guanciale bacon, chopped
4. Once they have become golden, simmer with white wine and let it evaporate
5. At this point, use a slotted spoon to remove the Guanciale from the oil, and place on a tray covered in paper towels
6. Pour the tomato purée into the pan. Add a pinch of salt, and cook for 10 minutes. Place a lid on top to avoid having to clean the whole kitchen afterwards, but be careful to let the vapour to come out: you want to get rid of all of purée excess water
7. Meanwhile, cook the Bucatini pasta in boiling salted water
8. Drain Bucatini pasta al dente. Add pasta and Guanciale bacon to the tomato sauce and season it with salt - if needed - according to your taste
9. Serve with an abundant spoon of Pecorino cheese on top

Nutrition Facts are listed for this recipe in the table below. Data is provided per serving.