Bucatini all'Amatriciana

Name: Bucatini all'Amatriciana
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 400 g (14 oz) bucatini, or spaghetti or rigatoni; 150 g (5 oz) guanciale, or pancetta, cut in 1 cm (½ in) strips; 1 tbsp olive oil; 60 ml (¼ cup) dry white wine, optional; 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes, 800 g, crushed by hand; ½ tsp dried chili flakes; 60 g (2 oz) Pecorino Romano, finely grated, plus extra to serve; fine sea salt, to taste, plus 30 g (1½ tbsp) for the pasta water

Guanciale, tomato and Pecorino with a little chili heat

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 15 min
Total: 35 min
Level: Easy

A tomato sauce built on rendered guanciale, sharpened with Pecorino and a pinch of chili. This version keeps the sauce short and thick so it clings to the hollow bucatini, and uses canned whole tomatoes crushed by hand for a fresher texture than passata.

Ingredients

400 gbucatini (14 oz)or spaghetti or rigatoni
150 gguanciale (5 oz)or pancetta, cut in 1 cm (½ in) strips
1 tbspolive oil
60 mldry white wine (¼ cup)optional
1 canwhole peeled tomatoes (28 oz)800 g, crushed by hand
½ tspdried chili flakes
60 gPecorino Romano (2 oz)finely grated, plus extra to serve
fine sea saltto taste, plus 30 g (1½ tbsp) for the pasta water

Allergens: gluten, milk, sulphites
Origin: Italy (Amatrice, Lazio)

Method

Put the guanciale and oil in a cold wide frying pan over medium-low heat. Render until the fat runs clear and the edges are golden, 8–10 minutes. 10 min
Lift out about a third of the crispest pieces and set aside for the top.
Add the chili and wine, if using, and let it bubble until almost gone, about 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes with their juice. Simmer briskly, stirring now and then, until thick and the oil starts to separate at the edges, 15–20 minutes. Taste and add salt only if needed. 18 min
Meanwhile bring 4 L (4 qt) water to a boil with 30 g (1½ tbsp) salt and cook the pasta until 1 minute short of the packet time. 10 min
Lift the pasta into the sauce with a splash of pasta water and toss over medium heat for 1 minute, until the sauce coats it.
Off the heat, toss in the Pecorino. Serve topped with the reserved crisp guanciale and more cheese.

Why it works

Pork fat carries the tomato and chili flavors and gives the sauce body, so the sauce needs no butter or cream. Reducing until the fat splits out is your sign that enough water has gone for a sauce that clings, not pools. Adding the cheese off the heat stops it turning stringy.

Common mistakes

Using too much liquid: the sauce should be thick enough to leave a clean trail when you drag a spoon through it.
Adding onion and garlic: not wrong, but it turns this into a different, sweeter sauce.

Variations

With onion: Many cooks in Rome add half a finely sliced onion with the guanciale. Cook it until soft before adding tomatoes.

Make ahead and storage

The sauce keeps 3 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen. Cook the pasta fresh.

Notes

Use 60 ml (¼ cup) extra pasta water in place of the wine if you prefer. Sulphites only if you add the wine.