Bucatini all’Amatriciana

This is our Amatriciana. You may be asking, “no onion?!” That is correct. This dish is simple! Semplicissimo. When your tomatoes are sweet, there is no need for onion. Stick with San Marzano Tomatoes and you can’t go wrong!

For this recipe we were inspired by the queen of cucina romana Sarah Cicolini. When we’re in Rome, a stop at her Santo Palato is a must. Sarah introduced us to her secret Amatriciana move: deglazing the guanciale-greasy pan with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Brilliant! Such a small detail adds a great depth of flavor to your sauce, believe it or not.

Ingredients

SERVES: 5 people
TIME: 35 minutes

• Guanciale, 250 g / 9 oz
• Faella Bucatini , 1 bag (500 grams / 1.1 lbs)
• San Marzano Tomatoes, 1 can (800 grams / 28.2 oz), broken up with your hands
• Pecorino Romano, 2 cups, grated
• Red Wine Vinegar, 1 tablespoon
• Maida Peperoncini, 4 teaspoons, plus to taste
• Coarse Sea Salt, to taste

Preparation

1. Cut the guanciale into short strips or cubes and put them in a frying pan.
2. Brown the meat on medium-high until very crisp and then remove it from the pan, leaving 3 tablespoons of rendered fat.
3. Add the red wine vinegar into the pan and allow it to evaporate, about 1 minute.
4. Add the tomatoes and let them cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
5. Once the tomato sauce has thickened, add 4 teaspoons of chili peppers and mix.
6. Boil a pot of salted water and cook the Bucatini, 2 minutes shy of al dente (about 8 minutes).
7. Once cooked, reserve 1 cup of pasta water, strain the Bucatini and add to the sauce in the pan. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, add pasta water if needed.
8. Add the guanciale and mix well.
9. When ready to serve, turn off the heat, add Pecorino Romano, and mix well to reach a creamy consistency – you may need to add some pasta water to loosen the sauce and achieve maximum creaminess.
10. Serve in a bowl with optional extra peperoncino.