Pasta all’Amatriciana Recipe
How to make Amatriciana pasta sauce
One of Rome’s iconic quartet of pasta sauces (along with carbonara, gricia, and cacio e pepe), Amatriciana is a heavenly combination of sweet tomatoes, salty guanciale and pecorino cheese with a slight hint of spiciness. Originating in the town of Amatrice, north of Rome, it is now a staple dish in homes and restaurants of the Eternal City.
This is not just any recipe. It’s the official Amatriciana recipe from Amatrice. Watch Foodie Sisters in Italy, Benedetta and Valeria, guide you step by step. Then it’s your turn to make it at home!
Pasta all’Amatriciana
Serves 4
500g spaghetti
125g guanciale
100g pecorino, finely grated
6 or 7 San Marzano tomatoes, chopped (or 400g of peeled can tomatoes)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
a drop of dry white wine
1 red chili, finely chopped
Salt
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil for the pasta.
In the meantime, make the sauce. Cut the guanciale into chunks and put it into a large pan with the olive oil and chopped chili. Heat the pan and cook over a high flame until the guanciale starts to brown and the fat turns transparent and begins to melt away. Cook everything together and then add the white wine.
Once the wine has evaporated, remove the guanciale from the pan and let them drip dry and set aside.
Add the fresh tomatoes cut in pieces (previously blanched to remove the skin and seeds) or canned tomatoes to the pan. Adjust the salt and leave to cook for a couple of minutes. Remove the chili pepper and put the pieces of guanciale back into sauce and mix.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until perfectly ‘al dente’. Drain the pasta and add put it into a serving bowl. Add the sauce and the pecorino cheese.
Mix everything together well and then serve with an extra sprinkle of pecorino.
Buon appetito!
Learn to make pasta all’amatriciana in our cooking classes in Rome and, if you want to taste amatriciana, gricia, cacio e pepe, and carbonara all in dinner, join our 4 Roman Pastas Tasting Tour in Rome.
