Bucatini all'amatriciana

Ingredients

• 400 g di bucatini dei Campi
• 100 g guanciale cut in thick slices
• 400 g mature San Marzano tomatoes (or 200 g canned peeled tomatoes)
• 60 g grated pecorino romano
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Dry white wine
• Salt
• Dried spicy peppers

Instructions

Boil the tomatoes for one minute, then immediately plunge them into cold water in order to peel them. Peel them, remove their seeds and cut them into strips (or drain the canned tomatoes and cut them into strips). Cut the guanciale into thin strips and put them in a pan with a tablespoon of oil and the spicy pepper and lightly brown everything over medium heat. When the guanciale is lightly browned, add a small amount of wine and simmer and reduce. Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt and let everything cook together at medium-high heat for a few minutes. At the same time, cook the bucatini and drain them when al dente. Put them in a large bowl with the sauce and half of the pecorino and mix well. Serve immediately with a last sprinkling of pecorino. If desired, the guanciale can be removed from the pan before adding the tomatoes and then mixed in with the pasta later on.

Note

This is a typical Roman recipe and bucatini pasta is the classic pasta shape it is made with. The name comes from the city Amatrice in the Rieti province. Even if many people add onions when preparing this dish, the original recipe only calls for guanciale, tomatoes, and pecorino. It is important not to confuse guanciale with pancetta, as they are quite different. Guanciale, as can be inferred from its name (guancia is cheek in Italian), is a cut of meat taken from the cheek of the pig, cut, salted, sprinkled with pepper and spicy pepper, sometimes smoked, and left to mature.

Difficulty Level: medium Appreciation: Time for preparation: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Share: 4 persons