How to Make Authentic Italian Bucatini all'Amatriciana Sauce
Try this recipe for Authentic Italian Bucatini all'Amatriciana Sauce.
Try this recipe for Authentic Italian Bucatini all'Amatriciana Sauce.
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 pound bucatini or thick stranded spaghetti (see note)
- 1/4 pound (100 g) pancetta or guanciale diced (see note)
- 1 pound (400 g) ripe tomatoes (4-5 plum tomaoteos) blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped
- half an onion minced
- a hot pepper seeded and shredded (or leave it whole if you want to remove it)
- an abundance (a cup) of freshly grated pecorino ro
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 27.0000000344032 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 3.72816000475039 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1048g)
- Sodium 0.540000000688064 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0.731160000931639 g
- Calories 239 calories
Step-by-step
- Set the pasta water to heat, salt it when it boils, and cook the pasta.
- While this is happening, heat the oil in a skillet, add the diced meat, and cook until it browns, stirring the pieces about.
- Remove them to a sheet of absorbent paper with a slotted spoon and keep them warm.
- Add the onion to the grease in the pan, together with the hot pepper, and when it begins to color add the tomato pieces, which should be well drained.
- Cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, then return the diced pancetta to the pot and heat it through.
- Drain the pasta while it's still a little al dente, turn it into the skillet with the sauce, cook a minute more more, stirring the pasta to coat the strands, and serve, with grated pecorino.
Using smoked bacon instead of unsmoked guanciale or pancetta introduces wood smoke and cured sugar that fundamentally alter the sauce's flavor profile and fat composition. Traditional preparations rely on pork jowl or belly yielding clear rendered fat without the interference of smoke or added sugars, which burn easily at high heat. Managing moisture is critical for success.
Achieving the Proper Fat and Tomato Emulsion
Blanching, peeling, and seeding 4 to 5 plum tomatoes removes excess water before they hit the skillet. Draining the tomato pieces thoroughly prevents them from releasing too much liquid when added to the pan, ensuring they fry in the pork fat rather than stew in their own juices. Cook the onion and hot pepper in the rendered grease until colored, then add the drained tomatoes for exactly 5 to 6 minutes.
Bonding Pasta and Sauce
Finishing the pasta directly in the skillet for a minute longer creates a cohesive coating rather than a pool of sauce beneath plain noodles. Drain the bucatini while slightly undercooked so it absorbs the tomato reduction without turning mushy. Reserve the crisped meat on absorbent paper to protect its texture, returning it to the skillet just before tossing everything with a generous cup of freshly grated pecorino Romano.
