Bucatini all’amatriciana

FrankAbruzzo, Lazio, pasta, primi piatti50 Comments

Bucatini all'amatriciana

It could be said that bucatini all’amatriciana and spaghetti alla carbonara are the ‘Romulus and Remus‘ of Roman cooking. No two dishes typify the local cuisine better than these two yet, like the two founding brothers of the Eternal City, neither actually comes from the city of Rome itself. L’amatriciana, as the name suggests, comes from a little town called Amatrice, in the province of Rieti, in what is now north-eastern Lazio. If you look on a map, you’ll see that Amatrice is located in a little ‘tongue’ of Lazio territory that sticks into a mountainous area in the center of the country known as the Gran Sasso (the ‘Big Rock’). And, in the old daysā€”before Mussolini changed the borders and most definitely before this dish was inventedā€”it was part of the region of Abruzzo. So, in fact, despite its renown as a Roman dish par excellence, the abruzzesi have a strong claim to this dish.

Bucatini, a kind of thick, hollow spaghetti also known in Naples and environs as perciatelli,Ā are theĀ classic pasta to use with this dish in Rome, although, truth be told, the sauce lends itself well to all sorts of dried pastas.Ā In fact, the original dish was apparently made withĀ spaghetti, and this is the pasta recommended by the Amatrice tourist board. Rigatoni are also quite popular. Fresh egg pastas, on the other hand, don’t go particularly well with this rustic sauce.

In any event, the dish is simplicity itself. In essence it’s simply a very simple tomato sauce simmered with cured pork:Ā pancetta orā€”for a truly authentic Roman versionā€”the cured pork jowl calledĀ guanciale. You can make the sauce in the time it takes your water to boil and your pasta to cook. And yet the cured pork gives the dish a depth of flavor you’d associate with long simmered sauces. There’s a good reason why this dish has become a standby in Roman kitchens!

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

  • 500g (1 lb) bucatini
  • 150-300g (5-10 oz) guanciale or pancetta, cut into strips or cubes
  • 1/2 onion, peeled and chopped, or 1 garlic clove, peeled and slightly crushed (optional)
  • 1 peperoncino (dried red pepper) (optional)
  • 250-500g (8-16 oz) fresh or canned tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
  • Olive oil (or lard)
  • Salt, q.b.
  • 100g (4 oz) grated pecorino romano cheese

Directions

Throw the bucatini into abundant, well salted, vigorously boiling water and cook until still veryĀ al dente.

While the bucatini are cooking, sautĆ© theĀ guancialeĀ or pancetta, in a bit of olive oil (or lard) until the fat is translucent and just beginning to brown slightly. (You are not looking to crisp the pancetta, just to draw the flavor and fat from it and add just a bit of caramelization for added flavor.) If you like, you can add the onion or garlic along with the pancetta; if using garlic, remove it as soon as it begins to color. I also like to add a peperoncino for a little heat, but don’t overdo itā€”this is not meant to be a spicy dish.

Bucatini all'amatriciana-1

Then add very ripe, peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes, or if you don’t good ripe tomatoes on hand, just add good quality canned tomatoes or passata. Simmer the tomatoes until they have reduced and separated from the fat. Then add a tablespoon or two of grated pecorino cheese, and let it melt into the sauce.

When the bucatini are done, drain them (but not too well) and add them to tomato sauce along with another good sprinkling of pecorino cheese and mix well over low heat, allowing the bucatini to absorb the flavors of the cheese and sauce. If the sauce is too thickā€”the bucatini should slither around the pan easilyā€”add a bit more pasta water.

Serve the bucatini with yet a third sprinkling of pecorino.

Ā Notes

Like many traditional dishes, l’amatriciana has with many variations. The original versionĀ was made entirely in bianco, which is to say it did not contain tomatoes, which became a standard part of the dish only in the 18th century, as tomatoes were becoming a more common part of the central and southern Italian diet. These days it is so common to include tomatoes in the dish that another name is given to the tomato-less version: bucatini alla gricia, after the village of Griscia, not too far from Amatrice. The amount of tomato varies from recipe to recipe; in some versions, amatriciana is a veritable pork-flavored tomato sauce; in other versions, only a bit of tomatoā€”perhaps just a few pomodorini (cherry tomatoes)ā€”are added. So, in short, try adding different amounts of tomato (or none at all) and let your own taste be your guide.

Guanciale, cured pig’s cheek, is the original and most authentic ingredient to use. But, of course, guanciale is not so easily found, especially outside Italy. If you can find, by all means use it. Since guanciale is rather fatty, you may not need as much (or any) olive oil. Lard lends more porky flavor to the sauce, of course.

Another variable is whether or not to add garlic or onion to sautĆ© along with the pork. Although not original to the dish, many versions, including the one you’ll find in the authoritative Talismano della felicitĆ  by the romanissimaĀ Ada Boni, callĀ for thinly sliced or chopped onion. Some will have you add a half onion to sautĆ© and simmer, only to be removed before you mix the sauce with the pasta. To my mind at least, the sweetness of the onion does not marry all that well with the rest of the flavors in the dish, so I prefer to add just a hint of garlic by sautĆ©ing a clove along with the pancetta and removing it as soon as it begins to color. Once again, let your own taste be your guide.

As mentioned, if you use peperoncino, go easy. This is not meant to be a spicy dish. You can substitute a pinch of dried pepper flakes if you don’t have a whole dried red pepper, but make sure to add the flakes just before the tomato, as they easily turn bitter if burned. Some people like ground black pepper instead, or in addition to, the red pepper.

Ā The type and amount of pecorino cheese is also a matter of some variation. They say that for a truly authentic amatriciana, one should use the local pecorino from the Sabine hills, but that is obviously not an option for anyone outside of Italy (or many in Italy) so pecorino romano is much more commonly used. The technique of adding pecorino three timesā€”first to melt into the sauce, a second time while mixing the pasta with the sauce and a third time on top of the finished dishā€”comes from the advice in the excellent La cucina romana e del Lazio (Newton & Compton, 1998). Personally, I’d never make amatriciana any other way, but other recipes only call for mixing the pecorino with the pasta, others only using it as a ‘topping’.

Some recipes, including the recipe promoted by the ‘pro loco’ (tourist board) of the town of Amatrice, which can also be found in La cucina romana e del Lazio, call for pouring a bit of white wine to the guanciale or pancetta after they have browned, allowing the wine to evaporate completely. That recipe (and the one proposed by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina) also calls for removing the pork from the sauce to keep it a bit crispy, and adding back in along the pasta. I’ve tried these options and personally don’t care much for them. I found the former added too much acidity, the latter was just too fussy. But don’t let that stop you from giving them a try!

One last tip: resist the temptation to salt the sauce too much or at all, especially if you go with the ‘thrice-sprinkled’ with pecorino method. The salt in the pork, and in the pasta water and in the pecorino should suffice to make the dish quite savory.

By the way, you will sometimes find bucatini all’amatriciana misspelled as bucatini alla matriciana. This misspelling is said to have been due to the tendency to clip initial vowels in Roman dialect.

Bucatini all'amatriciana

Ā 

Bucatini allā€™amatriciana

Rating: 51

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: Serves 4-6

Bucatini allā€™amatriciana

Ingredients

  • 500g (1 lb) bucatini
  • 150-300g (5-10 oz) guanciale or pancetta, cut into strips or cubes
  • 1/2 onion, peeled and chopped, or 1 garlic clove, peeled and slightly crushed (optional)
  • 1 peperoncino (dried red pepper) (optional)
  • 250-500g (8-16 oz) fresh or canned tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
  • Olive oil (or lard)
  • Salt, q.b.
  • 100g (4 oz) grated pecorino romano cheese

Directions

  1. Throw the bucatini into abundant, well salted, vigorously boiling water and cook until still very al dente.
  2. While the bucatini are cooking, sautĆ© the guanciale or pancetta, in a bit of olive oil (or lard) until the fat is translucent and just beginning to brown slightly. (You are not looking to crisp the pancetta, just to draw the flavor and fat from it and add just a bit of caramelization for added flavor.) If you like, you can add the onion or garlic along with the pancetta; if using garlic, remove it as soon as it begins to color. I also like to add a peperoncino for a little heat, but don't overdo itā€”this is not meant to be a spicy dish.
  3. Then add very ripe, peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes, or if you don't good ripe tomatoes on hand, just add good quality canned tomatoes or passata. Simmer the tomatoes until they have reduced and separated from the fat. Then add a tablespoon or two of grated pecorino cheese, and let it melt into the sauce.
  4. When the bucatini are done, drain them (but not too well) and add them to tomato sauce along with another good sprinkling of pecorino cheese and mix well over low heat, allowing the bucatini to absorb the flavors of the cheese and sauce. If the sauce is too thickā€”the bucatini should slither around the pan easilyā€”add a bit more pasta water.
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50 Comments on “Bucatini all’amatriciana”

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  5. Just made it today and it was really tasty šŸ™‚ I don’t think I’ve ever eaten or cooked amatriciana before, actually. Your carbonara is one of our staples, and this will definitely be added to the repertoire as well šŸ™‚

  6. “Per me,” only onions (of course) and no wine, with guanciale when I can find it. My very first was made for my birthday back in t4he mid-80s and the host used an entire bottle of wine. Not sure where that recipe came from… Cucchiaio d’Argento also calls for onion, no garlic – perhaps from Ada Boni? The half onion removed reminds me of Marcella Hazan’s sauce, also a favorite of ours. We made spaghetti all’Amatriciana quite often, especially using the home-cured pancetta (which is a bit more like guanciale). Thanks, Frank!

    1. For you, no garlic, of course… It’s such a shame that guanciale is so hard to come by, isn’t it? Even pancetta can be a bit hard to source around here, at least the kind you need for cooking. I’m impressed that you cure your own! May have to give that a go some time. The closest I’ve gotten is to season salt pork and let it dry out in the fridge for a few days. A little trick I’ve developed to mimic pancetta when I can’t find it at the store.

  7. And just like the Romans, it’s become a staple in our home with guanciale, add white wine to the guanciale and rendered fat and reduce, no onion or garlic. Although I make the sauce with both for gnocchi (wonderful IMHO). One of the first things we buy when we arrive in Roma is a chunk each of guanciale and pancetta! And…it’s my choice over Carbonara…

    1. I agree, this sauce is wonderful on gnocchi, too. Nothing like the special taste and texture that guanciale adds to this dish.

  8. Such a good dish! I usually (as in almost never) don’t add cheese to sauce. I’ll have to give that a try. And I’m a rigatoni type of person when it comes to this dish — just think it works better. But I’m a heathen (I like both onion AND garlic in this dish!!) so what do I know? šŸ™‚ Really informative post — thanks.

    1. You’re welcome, John! I do enjoy this dish with rigatoni, too. And as for adding cheese to the sauce, I think you’ll like it. In fact, once you try it, I bet you’ll make it a habit.

  9. I love this dish! I found a version of it in a waiting room magazine in a doctor’s office about 15 years ago, and have made it many times. It was my first exposure to real Italian cooking. Your minestrone was my second. I’ve been a fan ever since.

  10. Summer 2018: this was my supper tonite.followed the recipe to the letter and the pasta was delicious: garlic + no wine + triple pecorino. Thanks for the detailed recipe Frank

    1. So glad you enjoyed it, Stefano! I just made this the other evening as well, and I have to say, that triple pecorino technique is a winner.

  11. Frank, if you don’t mind, I’d like to post a link to this recipe to my FB page along with link to the Italy Earthquake Relief fund, As I’m sure you know, the town of Amitrice, this dishes namesake, was practically destroyed by the quake!

    1. Sure, Steve, I’d be honored. Terrible news indeed.

      By total coincidence, I am actually about to post (tomorrow) about pasta alla gricia, the tomato-less antecedent of this dish. I wrote the post last weekend. At first I thought I should delay the posting out of respect, but then realized it would actually be a wonderful tribute.

  12. My favourite pasta dish. You really need to go to Amatrice to taste it. My late Zio was chef at Hotel Roma in Amatrice and I was lucky enough to be shown how it’s made. The recipe is pretty spot on, I won’t give away my Zios tips though. Amatrice is worth the visit and Hotel Roma has splendid panoramic views of the mountains and country side. You must try the Bianco version.

  13. One of my favorite pastas! And the pecorino has to be added in the sauce, adding it (only) later deprives the pasta of much of its flavor and creaminess!

  14. While I appreciate that it’s usually recommended for amatriciana I find bucatini one of the most difficult of pastas. Difficult to cook exactly al dente, extremely difficult to eat if you under cook it. I recall being served a few years ago somewhere in Trastevere (when you could still find a decent Roman meal there) an amatriciana in which the bucatini was, shall we say, agressively al dente. By the time I’d finished, the table and, indeed, my partner sitting opposite me looked like they’d been assaulted by Jackson Pollock in his Red Period.

  15. Fantastic result – I followed precisely the instructions and in very short time I got simple, but delicious meal. Thanks!

  16. Frank, as you know I am a child of Abruzzoā€¦but my paternal grandfather was from Lazio, so I guess I’m ok with either provenance. This dish so beautifully typifies Italian cuisine ~ so many variations, all of them claiming to be ‘the original.’ Years ago my family went to Amatrice and everywhere you looked, restaurants had signs claiming to be THE place where “la vera Amatriciana” was invented. I’m with FH Perkins on the addition of wine to the pancetta, which is how I did it in Glorious Pasta. I can’t honestly remember when I learned this, but it must be the way my mom did it. It’s a lovely touch. I must say, though, yours looks perfectā€¦and perfectly dressed. Cheers, D

    1. I’ve gotten so much feedback on the wine thing, I’m going to have to give it another go. As mentioned in the post, when I’ve tried it before I found it added a bit more acidity than I likeā€”and I’m not generally fond of sour tastesā€”but perhaps I was just adding too much wine…

      1. You know what? I misspoke. I was thinking of my carbonara. In that recipe I brown the pancetta and deglaze with a little white wine. But I don’t do it when I make Amatriciana, I think for the very reason you state–too much acidity. At any rate, you made me crave bucatini all’Amatriciana so that’s what I’m making for dinner tonight. The big question I have to wrestle with now: onion or no onion? šŸ˜‰

      2. Marcella Hazan says exactly the same about not using wine in amatriciana but she does say to use it in carbonara.

  17. Frank – There is so much “lore” connected to so many dishes and you have once again, elucidated them well. As much as I like the tomato version of Amatriciana, I prefer the gricia variation. I never knew why it was named that, but now you have enlightened me. I really like the composition of your photos too, with the pasta box.

  18. il guanciale non sempre riesco a trovarlo e mi sono adattata alla pancetta comunque resta uno dei miei primi preferiti a pari merito con la carbonara, la cucina romana per quanto riguarda i primi ĆØ imbattibile ! Buona settimana Frank !

  19. Frank

    As ever, a recipe that epitomises the principle that less is more. The only variation I have (and I picked this up from a backstreet restaurant in Rome many years ago) is to include a small sprig of rosemary in the sauce. Always best with ripe fresh tomatoes, I buy them in bulk in the summer, halve them and give them a few minutes on high in a pressure cooker (or 10 minutes on high in a microwave), then put them through a mouli (coarse disk) and then slowly reduce the passata on the top of the stove until it’s a tomato paste like consistency. Two kilos of tomatoes will give you about 400ml paste, you can keep this in a jar in the fridge, but I freeze it in ice cube trays and keep it in a bag in the freezer. Two or three cubes and a half litre or so of water will give you excellent tomato sauce with the zing of the fresh or you can just add a cube to your tinned tomatoes as they’re cooking for a vastly improved sauce.

  20. Hi Frank! You are a mind reader…..a few weeks ago a posted the same recipe in the Italian magazine I am collaborating with (www.unaDonna.it). Your recipe is delicious, very well written and complete. I tuoi bucatini sono molto appetitosi! BRAVO!

    1. Thanks, Paola! Checked out your recipe and it looks wonderful as well. But then, you really can’t go wrong with something so delicious…

  21. Your recipes are the best! I love this recipe. It looks so delicious, and it’s my husband’s favorite dish to order when we go out. Now I can make it myself for him. Thank you!

    1. You’re welcome, Jodee! Hope you and your husband enjoy the dish. It always tastes better when you make it at home, I think.

  22. Thanks Frankā€¦as always you insights are in depth and well considered and so reliable.
    Armida, a woman from Abruzzo who helped me run a house for three decades in Rome always insisted that Amatriciana was Abruzzese in origin but few of my friends would agree. Especially the Romans. After WWII many Abruzzese made their way to Rome and being an industrious people they became successful merchants and restauranteurs. There was bus from Abruzzo to Rome and the end of the line stop was the Pantheon and in fact the entire area around the Campo die Fiore became populated with Abruzzese.

    Armida taught me to not add onion nor garlic. She taught me how half a glass of white wine into the rendered pork fat and reduced to a syrup not only helps make this dish more easy to digest but also mellows the flavor beautifully. I often apply this trick when using guanciale or pancetta. in other dishes as well. This step, if used, is done just before adding the tomato.

    She told also that some people she knows will add half an onion, uncut, into the tomato sauce and let cook until the sauce is finished. The onion is then removed. I have tired it and it is very good.

    She also told me that she cooks this sauce for a longer time that her regular tomato sauce which is cooked and finished more briskly.

    Thank You Frank and congrats for the recognition you recently received. It is well deserved.

    1. And thank you for your support! Romans can be a bit touchy about the origins of this dish, as I was reminded again today by a few rather fiery responses from some readers…

      And thanks so much for sharing Armida’s great tips with us.

  23. Hi Frank I was wondering………….I’ve been making this for years with a slight difference, How “sacrilegious” is it to have onions in it? (that was in the original recipe I used)

    1. Not sacrilegious at all, Martha. It’s really a matter of personal taste. As I mentioned, it’s recommended by Ada Boni, and you can’t find a more authoritative source than that!

We'd love to hear your questions and thoughts! And if you tried the recipe, we'd love to hear how it went!

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