BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image



Bucatini all'Amatriciana image

The key to bucatini all'amatriciana is guanciale: cured pork jowls, akin to pancetta or unsmoked bacon, cooked until crispy, then sauced with San Marzano tomatoes. It's classic Roman cuisine-just a few choice ingredients, deftly combined, in all of 30 minutes from start to finish.

Provided by Tony Mantuano

Categories     main-dish

Time 30m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 8

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces guanciale
kosher salt
1 pound bucatini, bronze-cut, preferably Afeltra brand
26 ounces can whole, peeled Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
Pinch red chili flakes
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving

Steps:

  • Sauce, part 1: Dice the guanciale, then sauté in olive oil over medium heat, 6-8 minutes or until the guanciale is crisp.
  • Pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes less than what the box advises. (Chef Mantuano advises using bronze-cut pasta for his dishes. These noodles are made with bronze molds instead of Teflon, for a surface texture that's a bit rougher and more porous. This greatly helps the sauce to cling to each noodle.)
  • Sauce, part 2: Add the tomatoes to the crispy guanciale and bring to a simmer. Using a wooden spoon, stir the sauce occasionally, breaking up the tomatoes as they are cooking, 5 minutes. Set aside.
  • Assembly: Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, then drain the bucatini. Return the pasta to the pot. Season the sauce with chili flakes and black pepper. Pour sauce and reserved pasta water into the pot and cook over low heat, tossing the pasta with the sauce to allow them to "marry," 2 minutes. The pasta should still be firm to the bite.
  • Transfer the pasta to a platter. Grate Pecorino Romano directly on top, about ½ cup. Serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table.

There are no comments yet!