When it comes to pasta, I’m very strict and very loyal. Since I was born and raised in Rome, I absolutely adore the three holy Roman pastas: Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe and Amatriciana.
While you might of heard of the first two, Amatriciana is somehow less popular abroad. This is a shame, because I personally think it’s the best pasta sauce in the whole wide world. What’s so special about it? It has all my favorite ingredients: Tomatoes, cheese, pork and naturally, pasta.
Much like the other two pasta sauces I mentioned, Amatriciana has always been cause of ‘fights’ between Rome’s people, because of the various additions and substitutions you are allowed and not allowed to make. I am all for people being able to experiment with cooking, but there are certain traditional recipes that are considered holy, and so should not be interfered with. Amatriciana is one of those.
I’ve cooked it hundreds of times, and eaten it in almost every restaurant in Rome, so I now have a very clear idea of what my perfect Amatriciana must look and taste like. I recently spoke about it on KCRW’s Good Food podcast with Evan Kleiman. Even though we had one conflicting ingredient choice (onions), we both agreed it is an amazing pasta sauce and one of our favorites.
Another thing we discussed was the preferred pasta shape to go with the sauce. Traditionally it’s supposed to be Bucatini (Evan is on team bucatini) , but most people in Rome (including me) will ask to have it served with rigatoni. Not only due the rigatoni hold the sauce a lot better but they are more manageable to get from the plate to your mouth (bucatini are so slippery people end up getting frustrated, splattered or both). I personally think rigatoni is the only option, and won’t have it any other way. If you visit Amatrice, the town known for inventing Amatriciana, you will find it served with spaghetti, which is also my second best choice after rigatoni.
But since you can’t get to Rome, much less Amatrice, at the moment, here’s my recipe for making it at home. But when you do finally make it to Rome? I’ll be happy to share a plate of my favorite Amatriciana with you!
PS: In case you get confused, here’s Sophie’s Amatriciana tutorial to watch.
Sophie's Amatriciana
Yield 4
Please keep in mind that the sauce doesn’t have to cook very long at all, just enough time for the pasta to cook in the boiling water. Another reason why Amatriciana is the best pasta in the world: It’s quick and easy!
Ingredients
- 3 thick slices of Guanciale (about 300 gr)
- 1 28-ounce can tomatoes (do not use fresh tomatoes it won’t taste the same, just use the best possible canned tomatoes you can find)
- 400 gr Rigatoni or Spaghetti (do not use fresh pasta, only dry)
- 150 gr grated Pecorino Romano
Instructions
Start by putting a pot of water to boil. In the meantime, cut your guanciale in small ribbons (or cubes if you prefer that size)
Add the guanciale to a pan with NO olive oil (the pork already has enough fat) and let cook on medium-low heat until it releases all of its fat and starts to become crispy (make sure it doesn’t burn). Add a splash of white wine and let evaporate. Once it evaporates, add the can of tomatoes to the pan and let cook.
Salt the water, then add the pasta to the boiling water . Cook until al dente, then drain.
Add the pasta to the pan with the sauce and mix it well, adding some of the grated cheese (save some for later) as you mix.
Plate and sprinkle with some more grated cheese on top
Notes
VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS:
- If you don’t have access to guanciale, use the best possible cured pancetta (bacon) you can find.
- Do not used smoked pancetta or bacon.
- If you like spicy food, you are welcome to add some hot pepper flakes to the tomato sauce
- If you can’t find Pecorino Romano, use any other aged sheets milk cheese. It’s important that it have a ‘sheepy-salty’ flavour.
If you’d like to join Sophie to try her favorite Amatriciana in Rome the next time you are here, join her on one of her tours.
For more recipes and stories from Italy see Elizabeth’s book The Italian Table.
What is the weight of the canned tomatoes?
28 oz.
What size can of tomatoes is recommended? In the States, there’s either 14 oz or 28 oz. Thanks! This is my favorite pasta too and I only discovered it when I went to Amatrice. It’s true, most non-Italians don’t know about it.
Sorry, should have written that. 28 oz
Love you both! Thank you for all you share with us. As soon as I’m able I hope to get back to Italy. Such a beautiful place. We watched the first episode of Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy. Loved it! ❤️
I’m looking forward to seeing the Stanley Tucci show too!!!
This is my show-stopper for American friends who have never had it. I am delighted to see you cook the guanciale until the fat renders. It is disappointing in a restaurant when they serve it with limp ribbons of barely cooked fatty guanciale. Also happy to see you turn from bucatini to rigatoni but I am on team onion. 😉
Nothing worse than flabby guanciale!!!
Are you using whole canned tomatoes or crushed? This was one of my favorites when we were in Rome, so simple yet so good.
As Sophie says, and I quote “Whatever you have works fine!”. The important part is the quality of the brand. After that it’s all good. Mutti, which is imported from Italy to the USA is pretty dependable if you can find it.
This is my absolute favorite sauce! Is there an online source that you recommend to purchase the guanciale? I’ve seen some in the U.S. but the reviews weren’t very good. Thanks.
I’m so sorry, but since I don’t live in the States I’m not really up on high quality guanciale. Maybe someone else will chime in here?
Hello……..call or google Delaurenti’s in Seattle, Wa for marvelous goose Guanciale. They do ship overnight. The store is a treasure chest of quality products.
Thanks for sharing this link to guanciale in the USA!! Delaurenti looks amazing, as does their guanciale. Here is the link:
https://shop.delaurenti.com/smoking-goose-guanciale-125100007781-61877/
Hello……do you put the tomatoes in as they come out of the can or do you mash them up?
Just put the tomatoes in as they are. If you are using Pelati, you can break them up with the back of a wooden spoon.
Youre making me nostalgic. I was lucky to visit Amatrice in about 2006, a day trip from Spoleto where I was working in the festival. Such a classic dish at the greatly missed Hotel Roma.
That sounds like an incredible day trip.
This recipe is amazing! Brought back such happy memories of Rome 🙂 There were empty plates at the table this evening – thank you! ❤️
If in NYC, you can find guanciale at the butcher Hudson & Charles on the upper west side and in the West Village.
Thanks for the information!!
Is it really 150 grams of cheese? That seems like too much.
It’s approximate. But Sophie loves cheese!
Can you make ahead and refrigerate and/or freeze?
Yes, you can!