Pasta Alla Matriciana

Basta, Basta...

No more pasta!

(Stop, Stop... no more pasta)

No more pasta?! Are you crazy? This is only my third pasta recipe. And believe me... I'm not done.

This next recipe is an easy, simple, fast pasta. Well, like almost any pasta really.

Up to now I gave you two seafood pastas, Spaghetti alle vongole and a nice Seafood spaghetti, and one pasta with meat; Pasta carbonara. Time for another one with meat!

 All'amatriciana or alla matriciana (said in Romanesco; the dialect from Rome, where I was born) is a sauce originally from Amatrice, a town in the Lazio region. This pasta is one of the most popular sauces in Italy. This sauce has even been declared 'Traditional Regional Food', but this label is only recognized in Italy.

You will need a few traditional Italian products for this, so go to your local Italiano-man and ask for them. Don't worry! If you can't find them, they are perfectly replaceable by other products.

Traditionally the pasta used in this recipe are 'Bucatini', but like I always say: "use whatever pasta you like!"

Like I said: Easy. Simple. Fast.

Lets go!

Ingredients:

• 400gr pasta
• 200gr guanciale, diced(this is bacon-like meat. But unlike bacon, which comes from the belly, guanciale is from the neck from the pig) If you can't find this, use bacon.
• 500gr nice, fresh, ripe tomatoes, diced (In winter you can easily use canned tomatoes)
• 150gr pecorino (preferably from Amatrice, because this is less salty than the Romano type. If you can't find this use pecorino Romano mixed with Parmigiano or only use Parmigiano)
• 1 small peperoncino (red pepper, but not to hot! you only want a slightly spicy taste in the sauce!)
• 2 tbs Olive oil
• 10cl white wine (there is NO wine in a traditional amatriciana sauce, but I like to add it because white wine will enrich the flavors from your sauce!)

Preparation:

Start boiling your water for your pasta.

Take a large saucepan, heat the olive oil, add the whole peperoncino and guanciale or bacon and fry on medium heat. When the meat starts to have a nice golden/brownish color, add the diced tomatoes and the white wine and let it simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Start boiling your pasta. Check the time it needs to cook and make sure it will be ready approximately at the same time the sauce will be ready.

Just before the pasta will be ready, take out the peperoncino from the sauce.

When the pasta is ready, let it drain and add it to the sauce in the sauce pan. Slowly add most of the pecorino while stirring it all together. 

Serve on a plate and scatter the remaining pecorino just before serving.

ENJOY!

Guanciale, pecorine, olive oil and pasta

Amatriciana sauce with penne

november 20, 2013