SPAGHETTI AMATRICIANA

Italians are known to argue tooth and nail about their favorite soccer team, but much more so about their food…nobody cooks like my Mama, you often hear.

The very same dish made by two people who use the same ingredients but live in the next village could be the cause for a long and heated argument.  I suppose it’s because our love of food is as strong as our passion for soccer or cars.

INGREDIENTS 

Spaghetti or penne 320 g

Tomato Passata 400 g

Guanciale (or bacon if you can’t find it)150 g

Wine 50ml

Pecorino cheese 75g

Extra virgin Olive oil to taste

Salt to taste

Chili 1

METHOD

To make the sauce: take the guanciale, remove the rind and cut into cubes approximately 1cm.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan, add the chili pepper (whole) and the guanciale cut into strips.

Brown over lowish heat for 7-8 minutes until the meat is crunchy; stir often to prevent it from burning, pour in the white wine, turn up the heat and let it evaporate.

Set the guanciale aside, pour the tomato passata into the same pan, continue cooking the sauce for about 10 minutes. As soon as the water boils, pour in the spaghetti and cook them al dente.

Add salt to taste, remove the chili pepper from the sauce, add the guanciale cubes to the pan and stir to mix.

Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain and add directly to the sauce in the pan. Sauté the pasta very quickly and mix well with the sauce. Sprinkle the grated pecorino cheese.

Now your spaghetti all'Amatriciana is ready to be served.

BUON APPETITO! P.s. Amatrice is the home of this wonderful dish but it’s also remembered for the tragic earthquake that completely flattened the town in August 2016