Amatriciana is a classic italian sauce made of guanciale (streaky bacon), pecorino romano cheese, chiles, black pepper, onions and tomatoes: therefore, amatriciana pasta is one of Rome‘s most typical pasta dishes. This sauce is originally from the town of Amatrice, located in the province of Rieti, and it’s been declared Lazio‘s typical culinary product. Its history is still very controversial. Most of the experts agree that the word “amatriciana” comes from Amatrice, a small town about 100 miles from Rome, but some others claim that amatriciana pasta is actually from Rome and that Amatrice town has nothing to do with this dish. We don’t know the truth, but almost everyone agrees that this dish comes from gricia pasta, a recipe that includes cheese, guanciale and black pepper, so basically the same ingredients as amatriciana. If you are going to visit Rome or Lazio’s area, you can’t miss such a simple but tasty dish like amatriciana pasta!
INGREDIENTS
1 pound bucatini or spaghetti pasta 4 slices guanciale, diced 1 onion, diced 2 dried chiles 1 pound tomatoes, chopped 3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup grated pecorino romano
DIRECTIONS
To prepare your amatriciana pasta, take a pot full of water and heat it so that you can cook the pasta. Slice the onion very thinly, cut the 4 slices of thick guanciale into pieces and finely chop the hot chiles (you can keep or discard the seeds, that’s entirely up to you). Take a soucepan, put the olive oil and heat it, then add the
guanciale and put on a low heat; once the guanciale starts to meal a bit and to become slightly crispy, add the chiles and the onion.
Keep cooking on a low heat until the onion is almost caramelised, which should take about 15 minutes; add the chopped tomatoes and leave it to cook for another 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Adjust with a dash of ground black pepper and a little salt, even if I suggest you to taste your amatriciana before adding salt, due to the guanciale that already gives a salty taste to the sauce. Pour your amatriciana over cooked bucatini or spaghetti pasta and serve hot with some grated pecorino romano cheese.
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