The Amatriciana spaghetti is a typical traditional dish from Amatrice, a town in the province of Rieti in Lazio. A very simple dish with three main ingredients: guanciale, tomato, and pecorino from Amatrice. The Lazio white version is pasta alla gricia, also known as white amatriciana. It’s hard to find someone who has never made amatriciana, but who knows in which variant, for example, some add onion or garlic, or use bacon instead of guanciale, or don’t use oil or lard, but only the fat from the guanciale. As always, I prefer not to alter original recipes. This is a quick recipe to prepare even for dinners with friends, flavorful and super tasty as all Lazio recipes. You just have to try it.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1.1 lbs spaghetti
- 2.4 cups tomato sauce (or peeled tomatoes)
- 4.4 oz guanciale (1/4 of the pasta weight)
- 3 tbsps oil
- 2.4 oz white wine
- chili pepper
- salt
- 3.5 oz pecorino from Amatrice (or pecorino romano)
Tools
- Pan
Steps
Start by slicing the guanciale into strips, removing the rind.
In the pan, put the oil and chili pepper, heat well and add the guanciale.
Let it brown well over moderate heat for about 5 minutes, then remove the chili pepper, raise the heat and deglaze with the wine.
Let it evaporate for 2 minutes, keeping the heat high. Remove the guanciale and set it aside.
Lower the heat, add the tomato sauce and a bit of salt to the oil. Cover and cook over moderate heat for 20 minutes.
At the end of cooking, pour the guanciale into the sauce, taste for salt and let it season for 1 minute, then turn off.
At this point, just boil some water for cooking the spaghetti.
Drain them 3 minutes before the end of cooking, saving some water.
Add some pecorino to the sauce and pour in the spaghetti.
Mix them well in the sauce, then add a ladle of water and the rest of the pecorino.
Check the cooking and turn off.
The Amatriciana spaghetti is ready! Enjoy!
Storage
Amatriciana spaghetti should be enjoyed immediately after making.
