Bucatini all'Amatriciana
This recipe will vary sometimes but it always uses guanciale - if you can find it- or pancetta , pecorino cheese and of course the bucatini pasta. I learned to make this dish from someone who is actually from Amatrice in Lazio Italy. Her family owned a trattoria before she came to the US , and they always used onions in the sauce. In my opinion that’s the only way to do it. Onions take the sauce to the next level in flavor.
** I recommend using a cast iron or stainless steel skillet for preparing the sauce. Please do not use a non-stick pan for this unless you do not have anything else.
Ingredients :
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion
4 ounces guanciale or pancetta, chopped into ¼-inch cubes (3/4 cup)
1 (28-ounce) can whole Italian peeled tomatoes, crushed with your hands in a bowl
⅛ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
⅛ teaspoon Calabrian chili
sea salt
500 gm (1.1 lbs) bucatini
grated Pecorino Romano cheese (Locatelli is easy to find and just divine)
Directions:
In a large cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the guanciale/pancetta and render out the fat , stirring occasionally, until golden and crispy, about 5 minutes.
Remove the guanciale/pancetta with a slotted spoon to a small bowl or plate.
Add the last tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet with the fat from the meat and the onions . Cook until soft and somewhat caramelized, about 10-12 minutes.
Next add in a few of the tomatoes and their juice to deglaze the skillet a bit. Once deglazed add the rest of the tomatoes, black pepper and red-pepper flakes, and season with salt. At this point add the guanciale/ pancetta to the sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally and smashing tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon or fork, until tomatoes have broken down and sauce is thickened, about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted water, cook pasta according to package directions until just shy of al dente. (Our Paone 1878 Pasta needs 8 minutes) Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and drain.
Into the empty pasta pot add the tomato sauce, the pasta and ½ cup of pasta cooking water and toss well, but gently with kitchen tongs over medium-high heat until pasta is evenly coated in the sauce, about 1 minute. (Add more pasta water if sauce is dry.) Remove from heat, plate and serve with the grated pecorino cheese.