Pasta all’Amatriciana
Pasta with guanciale bacon, tomato, and pecorino cheese
Equipment
- Pan for the sauce
- Pot for cooking the pasta
- Cheese grater for the Pecorino
- Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 250 gram dry maccheroni rigati
- 200 gram guanciale cut into 1 cm cubes
- 425 milliliter canned peeled tomatoes
- 1 white onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic sliced thinly
- 50 gram grated pecorino romano for mixing into the pasta and for sprinkling on top
- 1 piece red chili pepper sliced thinly
- 50 milliliter white wine
- fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cut all ingredients as described in the ingredients list.
- Fry the guanciale bacon over high heat until crispy.
- Remove the bacon from the pan and set it aside; it will be added back later.
- Reduce the heat slightly and sauté the red chili pepper, white onion, and garlic for about 2 minutes.
- Then deglaze the pan with the white wine and bring it to a boil.
- Add the tomato passata and bring it gently to a simmer.
- Let it simmer gently for 30 minutes. Optionally, add a little (pasta) water occasionally if the sauce thickens too much. (Make sure to stir the sauce frequently as tomato sauce tends to burn quickly!)
- Once the sauce has simmered long enough, prepare a pot of salted water for cooking the tagliatelle. (Make sure the water is salty enough so the pasta can absorb sufficient salt)
- Cook the pasta (al dente) and add the remaining guanciale bacon to the sauce, let it simmer together for a few more minutes.
- Add the pasta to the sauce and let it simmer together for another minute.
- It's time for the finale. Remove the pasta from the heat and add half of the pecorino cheese to the pasta. Mix well and let the flavors meld together into a cohesive dish. Season with pepper and salt to taste.
- Present the pasta on a plate, drizzle it (if desired) with some delicious olive oil, and sprinkle the remaining pecorino cheese on top. A dish to savor and enjoy.