Pasta Amatriciana
Updated May 2, 2024
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- chopped slab bacon
- oil
- onion
- chopped tomatoes
- cooked spaghetti
- bacon
- Pecorino
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Preparation
- Step 1
Cook chopped slab bacon in oil until done; remove with slotted spoon. Cook onion until soft, add chopped tomatoes, make sauce and toss with cooked spaghetti and bacon. Garnish: Pecorino.
Private Notes
Comments
In other words; you didn't make Marks recipe.
I was taught Amatriciana in Italy - it's super simple to rememeber - it's the 4 P's - pancetta (Italian bacon), pomodori (tomatoes), peperoncini (hot peppers), pecorino (grated cheese). In that order. And yes, best with bucatini which is a spaghetti sized tube - so the sauce gets inside the pasta. It's good with penne too.
I always add some pepper flakes and lots of garlic, a la Christopher Kimball.
I've come to like Mark Bittman's recipe from his cookbook and this is not it. Difference is that he browns the onions. Not traditional, but I happen to prefer it with the onions browned a bit. In terms of the cured pork meat used, it's absurd at this point for most folks outside of Italy to cook with guanciale. Bacon is cheap and makes this meal inexpensive. If we all cooked "authentic", we'd still be eating the daily kill roasted over a fire on a nightly basis.
This recipe is a satisfying version for making this dish quickly with ingredients most likely already on hand. "Amatrich" is my wife's favorite! I made it exactly as written. And she loved it. However, going forward, I second the motions for pepper flakes, sliced garlic and Pecorino cheese definitely. Spaghetti works, as we both agreed; but we decided we prefer bucatini for its ability to delver more of the sauce per bite.
For a bit of a more interesting recipe, try Sophie Loren’s amatriana. She should know.
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