Bucatini all'Amatriciana Recipe
There are so many fantastic classic pastas from Italy. Some of my favorites are pizzoccheri, cacio e pepe, and this recipe for bucatini all‘amatriciana. The best part of this pasta? The guanciale, a cured pork, renders down to crispy bits and the fat left behind makes the tomato sauce intensely flavorful. Plus, I love the toothsome bite of the thick bucatini wrapped in rich tomato sauce. Aromatics like garlic and onion aren’t traditional, but I like my sauce a little sweet, so I added onions here.
This comforting pasta is unique enough to impress dinner party guests and easy enough to feed your busy family.
Simple Tip!
I make a double batch of sauce and freeze it for another day.
The Delicious Origins
According to Italy Magazine, amatriciana sauce comes from Amatrice, Italy, where the sauce was simply guanciale, Pecorino cheese, and fresh tomatoes. There are many regional variations of this recipe. For example, dried chiles were in the original recipe, making the sauce spicy, but tomatoes weren’t always used. The dish made its way to Rome, located in the same region called Lazio, and it has since been embraced as Roman cuisine.
Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
Three Essential Ingredients
Guanciale: What makes this dish unique is the guanciale. It’s a fatty cured pork often seasoned with fresh herbs and spices. Ask your butcher or look for it at your local grocery store where the cured meats are. In a pinch, use pancetta or bacon.
The key to cooking guanciale is to let it render low and slow to help soften the fat. If it’s not cooked enough, it will be tough and chewy. The guanciale is cooked first and then the onions are caramelized in the rendered pork fat. White wine is added and cooked until reduced, creating a thick and rich sauce.
Bucatini: It’s a long tubular pasta that looks like a thicker spaghetti with a hole through the center. If you don’t have bucatini, use spaghetti.
Canned tomatoes: Use San Marzano tomatoes—they are the best variety of canned tomatoes for this pasta. It has the perfect balance of sweetness, acidity, and body. I recommend crushed tomatoes, but feel free to buy whole tomatoes and crush them to your desired consistency.
Storing Leftovers and Reheating
I recommend serving the pasta right away since it tends to dry out and overcook if reheated.
Store leftovers for no more than 3 days in the fridge and up to 2 weeks in the freezer. If freezing the pasta, make sure to thaw it before reheating, adding a little liquid as needed. You can do this in a skillet over medium-low heat or in the microwave.
Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
