by Sophie Minchilli 23 Comments
When it comes to pasta, I’m very strict and very loyal. Since I was born and raised in Rome, I absolutely adore the three holy Roman pastas: Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe and Amatriciana.
While you might of heard of the first two, Amatriciana is somehow less popular abroad. This is a shame, because I personally think it’s the best pasta sauce in the whole wide world. What’s so special about it? It has all my favorite ingredients: Tomatoes, cheese, pork and naturally, pasta.
Much like the other two pasta sauces I mentioned, Amatriciana has always been cause of ‘fights’ between Rome’s people, because of the various additions and substitutions you are allowed and not allowed to make. I am all for people being able to experiment with cooking, but there are certain traditional recipes that are considered holy, and so should not be interfered with. Amatriciana is one of those.
I’ve cooked it hundreds of times, and eaten it in almost every restaurant in Rome, so I now have a very clear idea of what my perfect Amatriciana must look and taste like. I recently spoke about it on KCRW’s Good Food podcast with Evan Kleiman. Even though we had one conflicting ingredient choice (onions), we both agreed it is an amazing pasta sauce and one of our favorites.
Another thing we discussed was the preferred pasta shape to go with the sauce. Traditionally it’s supposed to be Bucatini (Evan is on team bucatini) , but most people in Rome (including me) will ask to have it served with rigatoni. Not only due the rigatoni hold the sauce a lot better but they are more manageable to get from the plate to your mouth (bucatini are so slippery people end up getting frustrated, splattered or both). I personally think rigatoni is the only option, and won’t have it any other way. If you visit Amatrice, the town known for inventing Amatriciana, you will find it served with spaghetti, which is also my second best choice after rigatoni.
But since you can’t get to Rome, much less Amatrice, at the moment, here’s my recipe for making it at home. But when you do finally make it to Rome? I’ll be happy to share a plate of my favorite Amatriciana with you!
PS: In case you get confused, here’s Sophie’s Amatriciana tutorial to watch.
Sophie's Amatriciana
Author Sophie Minchilli
Yield 4
Please keep in mind that the sauce doesn’t have to cook very long at all, just enough time for the pasta to cook in the boiling water. Another reason why Amatriciana is the best pasta in the world: It’s quick and easy!
Ingredients
- 3 thick slices of Guanciale (about 300 gr)
- 1 28-ounce can tomatoes (do not use fresh tomatoes it won’t taste the same, just use the best possible canned tomatoes you can find)
- 400 gr Rigatoni or Spaghetti (do not use fresh pasta, only dry)
- 150 gr grated Pecorino Romano
Instructions
Start by putting a pot of water to boil. In the meantime, cut your guanciale in small ribbons (or cubes if you prefer that size)
Add the guanciale to a pan with NO olive oil (the pork already has enough fat) and let cook on medium-low heat until it releases all of its fat and starts to become crispy (make sure it doesn’t burn). Add a splash of white wine and let evaporate. Once it evaporates, add the can of tomatoes to the pan and let cook.
Salt the water, then add the pasta to the boiling water . Cook until al dente, then drain.
Add the pasta to the pan with the sauce and mix it well, adding some of the grated cheese (save some for later) as you mix.
Plate and sprinkle with some more grated cheese on top
Notes
VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS:
- If you don’t have access to guanciale, use the best possible cured pancetta (bacon) you can find.
- Do not used smoked pancetta or bacon.
- If you like spicy food, you are welcome to add some hot pepper flakes to the tomato sauce
- If you can’t find Pecorino Romano, use any other aged sheets milk cheese. It’s important that it have a ‘sheepy-salty’ flavour.
If you’d like to join Sophie to try her favorite Amatriciana in Rome the next time you are here, join her on one of her tours.
For more recipes and stories from Italy see Elizabeth’s book The Italian Table.
