This comforting pasta is unique enough to impress dinner party guests and easy enough to feed your busy family.
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.
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.
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As soon as you set the pot of water to boil, start the sauce. That way, the pasta will be cooked by the time the sauce is ready. You can then transfer the cooked pasta directly into the sauce without having to drain it. Serve the pasta with parsley and more cheese sprinkled on top. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Slowly reheat on the stove top over medium-low heat with a little bit of water, if necessary. Did you love the recipe? Leave us stars below!
