When Franco Rua thinks of Rome, he thinks of all’Amatriciana, a classic Roman dish that originates from distributors swift-cooking in Italy’s road marketplaces.
This bucatini dish delivers collectively the rendered unwanted fat of guanciale, or cured pork cheeks, with onion, crushed tomatoes and grated cheese for a easy pasta dish that typically acts as a study course right before a meat-based mostly entrée. If you can not locate guanciale, bacon or pancetta can be substituted.
Prepare dinner the pasta just until eventually al dente, Rua suggests, and allow for it to end cooking in the tomato sauce. Incorporate a splash of pasta water to help the flavors penetrate the bucatini — the standard pasta pairing for all’Amatriciana, as its hollow center absorbs some of the sauce.
Bucatini all’Amatriciana
- 1 lb Sfoglini bucatini, spaghetti or rigatoni pasta
- 2 to 3 Tbsp additional virgin olive oil, divided
- 6 oz guanciale, pancetta or thick-sliced bacon, slice into 1-inch-broad by ¼-inch-thick pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 compact onion, thinly sliced
- 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh oregano leaves
- pinch crushed pink pepper flakes
- salt and freshly floor black pepper, to taste
- freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese
Heat huge coated saucepot of salted water to boiling above significant heat. Prepare pasta as label directs.
In the meantime, in 12-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil above medium-lower heat. Add guanciale, and prepare dinner right until fat begins to render and meat gets crisp, stirring from time to time. Add garlic and onion, and cook 3 to 4 minutes or till onion is gentle and translucent, stirring sometimes. Incorporate tomatoes with their juices, oregano, crushed pink pepper flakes and salt and black pepper to style heat to boiling above medium-significant warmth. Minimize warmth to small, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes or right until sauce thickens a bit, stirring often.
Reserve some pasta cooking h2o, then drain pasta. Return pasta to saucepot. Insert sauce and remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons oil toss till well blended. Insert a contact of pasta cooking h2o to loosen sauce, if ideal. Divide pasta involving plates. Sprinkle cheese over pasta to serve.
Prompt wine pairing: Susumaniello, this sort of as Masseria Li Veli Susumaniello
Joe Armstrong is the wine qualified who suggests pairings for chef Rua’s cuisine at Cafe Capriccio. He states, “Though its ancestry is mysterious, Susumaniello is an indigenous varietal to Puglia with ancient roots. One particular guardian is believed to be of Greek origin and the other, the Garganega grape, but researchers are still attempting determine out wherever it arrives from.
“One of the largest problems we get about Italian crimson is that they are also earthy and taste like filth. The Susumaniello is fantastically sweet upfront with a seductive liquor cherry flavor. It goes properly with a crimson sauce.”