Bucatini all'Amatriciana

guanciale, tomato, a lot of Pecorino

Prep
10 min
Cook
25 min
Total
35 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
Rating
4.8 / 5 (341 ratings)

Three things people get wrong: swapping guanciale for pancetta (different fat content, different flavour), adding onion (not in this version), and overcooking the tomato. The sauce simmers for about 15 minutes. Not an hour. The Pecorino goes on off the heat.

Ingredients

For 4 servings.

  • 400 g bucatini (rigatoni works if you can't find bucatini)
  • 200 g guanciale
  • 400 g canned whole San Marzano tomatoes
  • 80 g Pecorino Romano DOP, grated
  • 60 ml dry white wine
  • 1 pc dried red chili
  • to taste coarse salt

Method

  1. 1. Render the guanciale

    Cut the guanciale into strips about 1cm wide. Put them in a cold, dry pan, no oil. Medium-low heat. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the fat has rendered and the strips are crispy at the edges. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.

  2. 2. Deglaze with wine

    Pour the wine into the hot fat and let it bubble. Stir to pick up anything stuck to the bottom, then let it reduce by half.

  3. 3. Make the sauce

    Add the chili and the tomatoes, crushing them by hand as they go in. Simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly. Season with salt.

  4. 4. Cook the pasta

    Boil heavily salted water and cook the bucatini 2 minutes short of the packet time. Save a cupful of pasta water before draining.

  5. 5. Finish in the sauce

    Add the drained pasta to the sauce with a splash of pasta water. Toss over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until the pasta finishes cooking and the sauce clings. Add the guanciale back in. Pull off the heat, scatter over most of the Pecorino, toss again. Serve with more Pecorino at the table.

    Adding the Pecorino off the heat stops it from clumping.

Nutrition per serving

  • 620 kcal
  • Protein: 26g
  • Carbs: 73g
  • Fat: 24g

A bit of history

Amatriciana comes from Amatrice, a town in the mountains northeast of Rome. The original version is called Gricia, which is the same dish without tomato. Tomatoes came later, after the 18th century, and turned Gricia into what it is now.

There's a running dispute between Amatrice and Rome about who owns the recipe. The dish spread to Rome through shepherds and seasonal workers who brought their food traditions with them. Today it's one of the four classic Roman pasta dishes, alongside carbonara, cacio e pepe, and coda alla vaccinara.