Amatriciana Pasta
A classic Italian dough made with dried bucatini pasta, cherry tomatoes, guanciale (or pancetta), rosemary, Pecorino cheese and lots of black pepper.
Ingredients
- 320g Bucatini pasta
- ½ teaspoon of chili flakes
- 100 g grated Pecorino cheese
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 onion - peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 200g of chopped pancetta, or bacon (or Guincele if you can get it for a really authentic Amatriciana)
- 400g tin of good quality chopped tomatoes
- Small bunch of parsley – chopped
Instructions
First, heat the oil in a large skillet and add the pancetta, cook over high heat until just crisp, incorporating the chili flakes for the last minute of cooking.
Then, remove the pancetta from the pan and add the onions to the oil that remains in the pan.
Cook the onions over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Add the canned tomatoes, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
Also cook your pasta at this point. I cook my bucatini in boiling water for 7 minutes, so that it still retains a bit of bite, then drain, reserving half a cup of pasta water.
Once the pasta is cooked and the tomatoes thickened, add the pasta to the pan with the tomatoes. Add three-quarters of the percorino, cooked pancetta and black pepper, then toss to coat the pasta. Add a little pasta water if the sauce is a bit too dry for you (although the sauce should stick to the pasta, without collecting at the bottom of the pan).
Serve garnished with the reserved perorino and parsley.
Happy Cooking Time.
