Bucatini all Amatriciana. Smokey, rich tomato sauce with just a bite of heat. Simple. Delicious. Heavenly comfort food.
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Amatriciana – Italian Comfort Food
The first time I ate Bucatini all Amatriciana I was absolutely blown away. About 20 years ago a few friends & I were visiting Little Italy in NYC for the weekend. We spent lunch & dinner visiting Italian restaurants. In each restaurant we ordered 4-6 dishes off the menu, asked for additional dinner plates & shared and tasted everything.
We ate so much amazing food – but the Amatriciana sauce stuck with me. A rich, velvety, tomato based sauce with so much flavor.
For some reason this pasta dish is not very known here in the USA. Perhaps most Americans are still enamored with spaghetti & meatballs and alfredo. This dish really deserves to be added to your pasta night recipe rotation. It’s got bright flavor and is pretty quick & simple to make. It’s time to try something new – I’m sure you’ll love it!
Looking for more pasta inspiration & Italian favorites? Check out these recipes: Sardine Pasta, Chicken Saltimbocca & Pasta Puttanesca !
Ingredients
People have so many misconceptions when it comes to Italian cooking. They over complicate something that really is so much simpler.
Italian cuisine varies from region to region simply because the food is based upon what’s local and what’s in season. Food as it should be, made from local, fresh, readily available ingredients.
Bucatini all’ Amatriciana is a wonderful example of a regional dish. Simple, readily available ingredients combined that result in beautiful, complex flavors.
Amatriciana is traditionally made with guanciale which is just about never available to me. Some people substitute pancetta but I’ve happily substituted good quality, thick bacon over the years and nowadays wouldn’t have it any other way.
Bucatini is a long, hollow tube pasta. The hole in the center allows your sauce to coat the pasta inside & out. You really need to get bucatini for this dish – spaghetti just doesn’t cut it.
As for pasta, I prefer quality and will not skimp. Bucatini is the main element of your dish so quality matters!
Sfoglini Bucatini is the gold standard. All Sfoglini Pasta (click to learn more) is made from premium organic semolina flour. All their pasta is slow dried for maximum flavor & nutrients. Sfoglini Bucatini (click for link) is bronze die cut, which gives the pasta a nice rough texture for your sauces to coat & adhere to. You can absolutely, 100% taste the difference!
Instructions
It really is a simple sauce to make. Saute the onions and bacon, add the herbs, tomato sauce, wine and let simmer for about 25 minutes, allowing all the flavors to blend.
I know it’s hard to bear – not draining the bacon grease – but trust me, it needs to stay. It makes the sauce.
Toss the cooked bucatini into the sauce. Serve sprinkled with a generous amount of grated Pecorino Romano & your favorite crusty bread.
Hope you enjoy!
Amanda ♥
Bucatini all’ Amatriciana Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon good quality olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1/2 pound thick good quality bacon or guanciale chopped
- 1 teaspoon parsley dried
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper
- 3 clove garlic, large minced
- 1/4 cup dry red wine or white
- 2 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 16 oz Sfoglini Bucatini
- 1 fresh ground salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Grated Pecorino Romano to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add chopped bacon, onion, parsley and crushed red pepper. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring often, until onions are soft and bacon is starting to lightly crisp around edges. Do not drain fat. Add garlic, cook until fragrant, a minute or two.
- Add red wine – stir in & scrape bottom of skillet.
- Add tomato sauce. Stirring often, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce covered for 20 – 25 minutes, stirring often. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook pasta per package instructions in boiling salted water, coordinate cooking times. Drain, toss with sauce. Serve with grated Pecorino Romano or cheese of choice. Enjoy : )
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