Amatriciana is a classic Roman pasta dish that combines cured pork, tomatoes, and a little bit of heat to make an incredibly tasty dish! Here's my take on this classic!
Ah, yes... more pasta
I get it. I mostly post pasta dishes. But, that's because they are all so delicious! I can think of nothing better for dinner than a big plate of pasta covered in a delicious sauce and topped with amazing cheese. So, I'm bringing you another pasta dish, but I think you're really going to enjoy this one!
What is Amatriciana?
When I start really getting into a dish, I try to do as much research on it as possible. So, the first time I tasted Amatriciana, I started learning everything there was to know about it. This lead me to doing research on all of the classic Roman dishes, and you'll see those soon. The question still remains, what is Amatriciana?
Along with Cacio e Pepe, Carbonara, and Pasta alla Gricia, Amatriciana is classified as a Roman, or North Italian pasta. It's the only pasta from the region made with tomatoes as they were scarce in Northern Italy in the 1800's when most of these dishes were conceived. It specifically comes from the Amatrice (ah-ma-tree-chay) region of Italy, which is were it got its name!
Traditionally, Amatriciana is made with guanciale (goo-on-chi-ah-lay) which is bacon made from the jowl of the pig as opposed to the belly where most American bacon is made. Guanciale also stands out as it is cured (preserved and dried), but it is not smoked. Italian bacon in general does not get smoked. However, guanciale is incredibly difficult to find in the US (especially in the midwest where we tend to be in a culinary vacuum that depletes us of all specialty foods), so this recipe is going to call for pancetta (pan-chet-uh) which is Italian pork belly bacon.
Enough about the meat! What else is here?!
Okay, I've bored you enough with talk of pork. What else makes up Amatriciana? This recipe is going to call for San Marzano tomatoes (did you expect anything less?), onion, garlic, pecorino romano cheese, and red pepper flakes. This dish is meant to be a little spicy, but you can omit most of the red pepper to chill the heat.
For pasta, this dish is traditionally made with bucatini (which is like hollow spaghetti), or spaghetti. You can use whatever pasta you want, though! My friend Mackenzie Smith made her Amatriciana with rigatoni (you can find that recipe at https://grilledcheesesocial.com/2020/05/14/rigatoni-all-amatriciana/) and I've got one of these pictures made with linguine. You can also sub the pecorino cheese with parmigiano-reggiano (which you know I love!). If you want to know more on my thoughts on parmigiano-reggiano, you can read my post, https://tasteoftravis.com/lasagna-for-family-night/!
Wrapping it up
A good Amatriciana dish is going to take you a little bit of time to cook, but I promise you it's worth the wait! I love this dish so much, that I made it when I auditioned for the 11th season of Master Chef! Give it a try and leave a comment below about how much you enjoyed it. Happy cooking!
Pasta all'Amatriciana
Ingredients
- 2 28 oz cans San Marzano tomatoes crushed or run through food processor
- 8 oz guanciale, pancetta, or bacon
- 16 oz long pasta spaghetti or bucatini typically
- 1 medium yellow onion – finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic – minced
- ½ cup packed pecorino romano or parmigiano-reggiano cheese plus more for plating
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes*
- 2 tsp fresh basil – finely chopped optional**
- 1 tbsp dry white wine optional***
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In cold large skillet, add guanciale to pan and set to medium heat
- Cook guanciale, rendering fat, until crispy.
- Remove guanciale with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel lined plate, reserving fat in pan
- Turn pan up to medium high heat and add onion and crushed red pepper. Cook until onions are translucent – about 8 minutes
- Add in garlic and cook until fragrant – no longer than 1 minute; Add wine here if using and reduce
- Stir in tomatoes. Add in sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until sauce is reduced and cooked through
- While sauce is reducing, bring large pot of salted water to boil
- Cook pasta until al dente just before sauce has finished cooking.
- Add guanciale (reserving some for plating) and pasta to sauce and toss together. Add basil if using at this time
- Remove pan from heat and stir in pecorino until incorporated into sauce
- Plate pasta topping with additional guanciale, pecorino, and basil if using
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