Pasta all'Amatriciana
Monday, March 29, 2010 at 9:59PM 
Pasta dishes are so well-suited for weeknight cooking. There are so many delicious versions of a "sauce" you can make that take the same amount of time (or less) that it takes for the water to boil and the pasta to cook. Pasta all'Amatriciana is one of my favorite pasta dishes and it's based on a classic. The richness of the pork combined with the intensity of the tomato brings huge flavor that doesn't require a long time to develop.
I've adapted the traditional all'Amatriciana slightly by using bacon instead of the more traditional guanciale or even pancetta. Also, I've left out the pepper flakes because I'm serving this to the kids. I usually sprinkle the pepper flakes at the end to my plated portion. Just remember to drain your tomatoes really well. You only want the tomatoes and not really any of the juice the tomatoes are packed in. You want to really cook down the tomatoes into a very concentrated pulp. Also, remember to really salt the water that the pasta cooks in. Just a pinch of salt is not enough. The water should taste well-seasoned. Then you toss the pasta into the sauce for the last minute of cooking to marry the sauce with the pasta.
PASTA ALL'AMATRICIANA
Ingredients: 4 strips of thick-cut bacon, 1 small onion, 2 cloves of garlic, one 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, whatever pasta you prefer/have, olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano cheese
- Get a big pot of water boiling.
- Slice bacon into thin strips.
- In a hot saute pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and the sliced bacon.
- Dice the onion and add it to the pan.
- Mince the garlic and add it to the pan.
- When the bacon has started to crisp a little and the onions are soft and start to become a little caramelized, add the drained tomatoes.
- Use a wooden spoon to start breaking up the tomatoes. They will continue to soften and break down as they cook.
- Season the sauce with a little salt & pepper.
- Drop your pasta.
- Continue to cook down the sauce and break up the tomato.
- You want the liquid from the tomatoes to cook off and the pulp to start to "fry" in the pan.
- When your pasta is just about done, add it to sauce. If you drain it in a colander first, reserve about a cup of the pasta water. I usually grab the pasta with tongs and transfer directly into the sauce while the pasta is still wet. The residual pasta water will help bring the sauce together.
- Cook the pasta in the sauce for the last minute and serve.
- Shower however much cheese you like onto the pasta.
- Eat.
Reader Comments (9)
Looks great. Did you use your homemade bacon? I have 2 jowls of guanciale and a role of pancetta about a week away from being done and dried. Can't wait.
Thanks Mark! I'm all out of my homemade bacon. I have made this before with my own bacon and it was great. I do think the unsmoked pork flavor of guanciale or pancetta might compliment the tomatoes more than bacon.
I've added roasted red peppers to mine before to get extra vitamins and a more depth to the flavor. Maybe the kids would eat them because they are sweeter when roasted?
I've tried to get them to eat roasted peppers before. Fail. But I used the whole grain pasta again for the extra nutritional value.
Tony, this dish sounds so amazing!!! I am going to try and make it this week.
Tony-I made the pasta dish the other night with whole wheat spirals, your bacon (not quite as much as recipe called for) and all the rest of the ingredients. It was superb. Any thoughts on adding more protein? I thinking beans (garbanzos or white) or cooked chicken?
Hi Claudia,I think white beans or Cannellini beans would be a nice addition. You could also try adding shelled edamame. Sausage (pork or turkey) would work too. You can cook the sausage with the bacon before adding the tomatoes. Have you tried the higher protein pastas? Some of the multi-grain pastas have quite a bit of protein. You can also get quinoa pasta. I've never tried the quinoa pasta but it seems like a good option for adding more protein.Glad you liked the recipe!
Hey Tony, finally made this dish tonight. Pretty much followed it as you spelled it out, and it was really great! Both kids gobbled it up, which is the best part of trying any new dish. Thank you so much for sharing such great recipes, I plan on trying them all at some point. I find it so difficult to find recipes that both girls will eat so we end up having the same 5 dishes over and over again. I'm so sick of this rut! I know this is kind of the point of your blog, and I just love it!
Julie, thanks so much! Glad you and the family liked it. I think it's awesome when people actually try out the stuff I blog about. I just hope that they like it & when they do it's really flattering. Thanks again!