Bucatini all'amatriciana, or alla matriciana (in Romanesco dialect), is a traditional Italian pasta dish made with a famous sauce based on guanciale (cured pork cheek), pecorino cheese, tomato, normally, onion. It is now one of the best known pasta sauces internationally and originates from the town of Amatrice in the mountainous Province of Rieti in the region of Lazio. The dish has origins that stretch to a recipe called gricia, which came from the name that Romans (of modern, rather than ancient history) had for bread sellers.
Tomatoes were a product first brought to Italy from the New World in the 16th century and the first tomato sauces date to the 18th century. Amatriciana was invented when tomatoes were added to the original gricia recipe. It then became increasingly popular and famous in the 19th and 20th centuries and quickly became a “classic” of Roman cuisine, though it was not invented in the city itself. The sauce is made with guanciale (cured pork cheek), grated pecorino, tomatoes and olive oil and is most famously served on Bucatini pasta in Rome but is typically served with spaghetti in its birthplace of Amatrice. Guanciale is also often substituted elsewhere, as needs demand it, by pancetta, which is more widely available abroad.
While you find a luxury villas in Latium and plan a trip to seek out this simple and satisfying dish in its original setting, why not try and make it at home yourself with this recipe? We can't promise it will be as good as the real deal but it will certainly get you in the mood for your trip!
Ingredients:
400g of spaghetti or bucatini
120g of guanciale/pancetta/streaky bacon
1 onion
1 dried chilli
450g of chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp of olive oil
Salt and pepper
30g of Pecorino cheese
1 tsp sugar
chopped parsley and Parmesan to serve
1. Finely chop up the onion and cut the meat into pieces of about 7mm thickness. De-seed and chop up the chilli finely.
2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the meat on a low heat, allowing to become slightly crispy on the edges, before adding in the onion and chilli. Cook on a low heat, for around fifteen minutes, until the onions start to caramelise.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar and leave the sauce to thicken on a low to medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Boil pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente.
5. Season the sauce with a little salt, pepper and pour over the cooked pasta. Remove from the heat and add the cheese, stirring it rapidly to incorporate it properly. Serve with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.
Enjoy as you browse our other articles about Italy.
While you find a luxury villas in Latium and plan a trip to seek out this simple and satisfying dish in its original setting, why not try and make it at home yourself with this recipe? We can't promise it will be as good as the real deal but it will certainly get you in the mood for your trip!
Ingredients:
400g of spaghetti or bucatini
120g of guanciale/pancetta/streaky bacon
1 onion
1 dried chilli
450g of chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp of olive oil
Salt and pepper
30g of Pecorino cheese
1 tsp sugar
chopped parsley and Parmesan to serve
1. Finely chop up the onion and cut the meat into pieces of about 7mm thickness. De-seed and chop up the chilli finely.
2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the meat on a low heat, allowing to become slightly crispy on the edges, before adding in the onion and chilli. Cook on a low heat, for around fifteen minutes, until the onions start to caramelise.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar and leave the sauce to thicken on a low to medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Boil pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente.
5. Season the sauce with a little salt, pepper and pour over the cooked pasta. Remove from the heat and add the cheese, stirring it rapidly to incorporate it properly. Serve with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.
Enjoy as you browse our other articles about Italy.
Photo credit: stu_spivack / CC BY-SA 2.0
