Pasta all'Amatriciana
Bucatini amatriciana - a delicious spicy bacon and tomato sauce served over pasta. Perfect for an easy midweek dinner.
*Post updated February 2025
Traditionally this sauce is made with guanciale; cured pork cheek with a strong, porky flavour. But you can use pancetta or smoked bacon as I did as that was all I had at the time.
Yes, yes, I know, bell pepper isn't a usual ingredient in amatriciana sauce, but I think it adds colour and a little sweetness to the sauce. 😋
Ingredients
- olive oil
- pancetta or smoked bacon
- red pepper flakes
- onion
- red bell pepper
- garlic
- red wine
- good quality tinned tomatoes - I use Cirio
- dried oregano
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- balsamic vinegar
- freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan to serve
Recipe Top Tips!
I use Maldon sea salt flakes as they really are the best - if they are good enough for Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay they are good enough for me! 😉A quick word on tomatoes and balsamic vinegar:
I know I go on about tinned tomatoes, but it really is worth buying good-quality ones.
I used to use Napolina but that was until I discovered the brand Mutti tinned tomatoes and I find them far better. There actually isn't much in the way of juice as it's so thick and tasty.
Any tomato-based sauces you make will only be as good as the tinned tomatoes you use and I find cheap brands are watery and in a word, horrid.
Balsamic vinegar is another ingredient that is worth spending a bit on if you can. Again, some are watery and pretty much tasteless - you really want a nice thick balsamic.Food & Wine magazine says balsamic is the king of all vinegar, and that the older a bottle is, the more expensive it is.
The quality of balsamic matters; its sweet and syrupy flavour is almost impossible to reproduce any other way.
Bucatini Pasta
You can buy bucatini pasta in any good supermarket. Bucatini has a hole running through the centre and is particularly common in Rome.For this recipe, you can of course use whichever past you prefer. You can also use bucatini in the Greek dish Pastitsio.
How to make it
Heat up the oil in a large frying pan and fry the bacon until cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
Without washing the pan, add the onion and bell pepper. Cook over low-medium heat until they are nice and soft but not coloured.
While that's happening cook the pasta in salted water as per packet instructions.
Now add the wine and cook for a few minutes to reduce.
Add the tomatoes including the juice, garlic, red pepper flakes and oregano and heat until bubbling.
Add the bacon back in, and cook over medium heat, adding a splash of the pasta water (this will help thicken the sauce) and cook for about another 15 minutes or so.
Add a splash of balsamic vinegar to the sauce, stir and have a taste - season with salt and black pepper.
Adjust seasoning and serve with the cooked pasta and top with a good sprinkling of Pecorino or Parmesan.
Oh, and I added the obligatory food bloggers' chopped flat-leaf parsley!
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!
Pasta Amatriciana Recipe
Ingredients
- 400g bucatini pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 200g pancetta or smoked streaky bacon - cut into strips
- 1 large onion - chopped into small dice
- 1 red bell pepper (capsicum) - deseeded and chopped into small pieces
- 60ml of red wine
- 1 x 400g can of good quality tomatoes including the juice - I use the brand Mutti
- 2 nice fat garlic cloves - minced
- a good pinch of dried red pepper flakes - or more to your taste
- a pinch of dried oregano
- a splash of good quality balsamic vinegar - or a pinch of sugar
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan to serve and some chopped flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the bacon until cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
- Without washing the pan, add the onion and bell pepper. Cook over low-medium heat until they are nice and soft but not coloured.
- While that's happening cook the pasta in salted water as per packet instructions.
- Now add the wine and cook for a few minutes to reduce.
- Add the tomatoes including the juice, garlic, red pepper flakes and oregano and heat until bubbling. Add the bacon back in, and cook over medium heat, adding a splash of the pasta water (this will help thicken the sauce). Cook for about another 15 minutes or so.
- Add a splash of balsamic vinegar to the sauce, stir and have a taste - season with salt and black pepper.
- Adjust seasoning and serve with the cooked pasta. Sprinkle over the chopped parsley and grated pecorino or parmesan.
No comments
Post a Comment
I love to hear from everyone so thanks for taking the time to comment. Please note comments containing links will NOT be published.
Cheers
Jan