Bucatini all'Amatriciana Recipe on Food52 (2024)

5 Ingredients or Fewer

by: Emiko

August27,2016

4.4

7 Ratings

  • Makes 4 generous portions

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

It is a deceptively simple and delicious sauce of tomato, guanciale (cured and ever so slightly smoked pork jowl), a hint of chile and pecorino (sheeps milk cheese), which is used both in the sauce as well as a garnish. It traditionally is paired with bucatini pasta, but spaghetti or even rigatoni are also used. It is important to cook the pasta al dente—look at the recommended boiling time on the packet and take off 1 minute.

A tiny splash of white wine sometimes makes an appearance, as does a drop of olive oil (although many will point out that sizzling guanciale produces enough of its own fat and flavour of its own that it is an unnecessary addition). Like other historical dishes with thousands of years of proud history and culture behind them, making amatriciana involves respecting rules. One of those most frequently broken is the addition of onion or garlic in the sauce—don't go there. —Emiko

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • 14 ounces(400 grams) bucatini, spaghetti, or rigatoni
  • 7 ounces(200 grams) guanciale (cured pork jowl)
  • 14 ounces(400 grams) tomato passata (puréed tomatoes)
  • 1 dried or fresh red hot chile, sliced finely
  • 1/2 cup(50 grams) grated pecorino cheese (or parmesan), plus more for garnish
Directions
  1. Put a large pot of water on to boil the pasta and when it starts boiling, salt it with 2 teaspoons of salt.
  2. In the meantime, prepare the guanciale. Cut off the tough layer of rind (the “cotenna,” in Italian), if present, then slice the rest of the guanciale (which should be mostly fat with a thin streak of flesh through it) thinly, then into sticks about 1/4 inch (5mm) wide.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and fry the guanciale pieces until the fat has melted and sizzled to a golden brown. Add the tomato and chile and bring back to a simmer over low-medium heat. Let cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Just before taking off the heat, add the pecorino cheese and stir through, until the sauce is creamy. Set aside until pasta is ready.
  4. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente—I recommend looking at the timing instructed on the packet and taking off a minute or so. Drain the pasta, saving about a cup full of the pasta's cooking water. Add the pasta directly to the skillet with the amatriciana sauce, along with a splash of the cooking water, to help loosen the sauce. You want the sauce to easily coat the pasta but still be quite thick. Toss well until the pasta is coated (if the sauce has gone cold, reheat it before tossing) then serve immediately, with more pecorino over the top if desired.

Tags:

  • Pasta
  • Sauce
  • Italian
  • Pork
  • Tomato
  • 5 Ingredients or Fewer
  • Fry
  • Entree

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Molly

  • Natalie R.

Popular on Food52

2 Reviews

Natalie R. October 4, 2016

It took me three weeks to get guanciale. One store in my city (a big city at that) carries it, but they sell out within the day and hadn't been getting shipments on top of that. It was immensely expensive to boot, so I was really hoping the ingredient would be worthwhile.

It was.

This is my new favorite pasta. I started the guanciale (which I think I cut more cube-like than intended) in a cold skillet to let the fat render a little. Mine didn't have a rind, but it was coated in black pepper and a few other spices that I decided to leave on. I used dried chile and added more tomatoes than the recipe called for because it didn't seem like enough (I think that was because I had "strained tomatoes", which would be denser). Excellent, excellent, excellent! I cannot emphasize enough that you must use pecorino Romano with this! I haven't had pancetta, but I loved the texture and flavor of the guanciale. Thank you for sharing!

An added note: I considered using some very nice spaghetti I had instead of bucatini, but my grocer was a big fan of bucatini and got so excited about her favorite brands that I bought some. After trying it, I wouldn't substitute spaghetti unless you have something very thick. The firmness of the guanciale needs the thick bounce of the bucatini.

Molly October 3, 2016

This recipe is delicious! It was such a hit in our house last night. If your grocery store doesn't have guanciale there are easy substitutes, like pancetta or cured pork. Look forward to making it again!

Bucatini all'Amatriciana  Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What is bucatini all amatriciana made of? ›

It's made with tomato, guanciale (cured pork jowl), black pepper and/or red pepper flakes, Pecorino Romano, and white wine—though there's lots of argument about what should and shouldn't go into it.

What is the best bucatini alternative? ›

Substitutes. If a recipe calls for bucatini and you can't find it at the store, you can substitute with spaghetti, spaghettoni (thicker spaghetti), or fettuccini in a pinch. While you won't be able to slurp up the pasta in the same way, the sauce and pasta will still be a satisfying meal.

What is the point of bucatini? ›

Where spaghetti or linguine get coated with sauce, bucatini gets coated and filled with sauce. It's the ultimate delivery vehicle for velvety pasta sauces like cacio e pepe or carbonara. That hollow center gives you more sauce with each bite, and around here, we subscribe to the “More Sauce, More Life” lifestyle.

What is bucatini traditionally served with? ›

In Italian cuisine, bucatini is served with buttery sauces, guanciale, vegetables, cheese, eggs, and anchovies or sardines. One of the most common sauces to serve with bucatini is the amatriciana sauce, bucatini all'amatriciana. It is traditionally made with guanciale, a type of cured meat taken from the pork jowl.

Does sauce actually get inside bucatini? ›

Bucatini is used just the same as one would use spaghetti, although the central tube sometimes picks up sauce, in addition to the sauce carried on the outer surface of the noodle.

What does all amatriciana mean in english? ›

Amatriciana sauce, known in Italian as sugo all'amatriciana (Italian: [ˈsuːɡo allamatriˈtʃaːna]; alla matriciana in Romanesco dialect) or as salsa all'amatriciana, is a pasta sauce based on guanciale (cured pork cheek), pecorino romano cheese, tomato, and, in some variations, onion.

Why is there a bucatini shortage in America? ›

I had confirmed that the bucatini shortage was real and understood that the bucatini shortage was a combination of factors: the pandemic's pasta demand, how hard it is to make bucatini because of its hole, De Cecco's strange and untimely barring from the U.S. border.

Does Barilla make bucatini? ›

Barilla Al Bronzo Bucatini pasta is made with the highest quality durum wheat, and is expertly crafted using innovative micro-engraved bronze dies for a robust texture and an extraordinary sauce grip. Try pasta reimagined with Al Bronzo Bucatini pasta.

Do you rinse bucatini? ›

No, in almost every case, you should not rinse pasta after it's cooked. It's true that rinsing noodles or pasta after cooking halts the cooking process. “This is also known as shocking,” Tiess says. But rinsing also removes the starch water after the noodles are strained, which is what helps adhere sauce to noodles.

Do you break bucatini in half? ›

Don't Break the Pasta

Let the ends stick out until the submerged sections soften, about 1 minute. Then stir to bend the pasta and push it underwater. You don't want short strands. Pasta should be long enough to twirl around your fork.

What does bucatini mean in Italian? ›

Bucatini, also known as perciatelli, is a thick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center. The name comes from Italian: buco, meaning "hole", while bucato or its Neapolitan variant perciato means "pierced". Bucatini is common throughout Lazio, particularly Rome.

How long do you cook bucatini for? ›

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of salted water to a boil on high. Add the bucatini, stirring occasionally. Cook 9 min. for al dente.

What do you eat with amatriciana? ›

First of all, serve your amatriciana with a little extra pecorino aside. That way, your guests can choose to add some to their plate. Second course: try serving meatballs with tomato sauce, or a meatball parmigiana. Mortadella Head's recipe contains pecorino cheese, so it will pair nicely with your amatriciana pasta.

What is the closest pasta to bucatini? ›

Bucatini is a long, relatively thick strand of round pasta with a pinhole running through it. Latini is a good brand as is Rustichella D'abbruzzo. But perciatelli works just fine. Focus on the guanciale.

How do they put the hole in bucatini? ›

However, the origin of the hole most probably lies in the original method of making this type of pasta by hand with a rush or a thin rod known as a ferretto. A small piece of pasta dough was rolled and stretched around the ferretto which was then withdrawn, leaving a hole inside the length of the piece of pasta.

What is the difference between carbonara and amatriciana? ›

Carbonara is a rich dish in which pasta is sauced with a mix of eggs, crisped guanciale (or sometimes pancetta), ample pecorino Romano cheese and plenty of black pepper. Amatriciana uses a similar formula, but replaces the eggs with tomatoes.

What is the difference between puttanesca and amatriciana? ›

Complexity of Flavors: Salsa alla Puttanesca and Salsa all'Amatriciana offer intricate flavor profiles. Choose Puttanesca for a briny, Mediterranean experience, and Amatriciana for a Roman-inspired umami-rich delight.

What is the difference between arrabiata and amatriciana? ›

What is the difference between Arrabiata and Amatriciana sauce: Both sauces are a little fiery. Arrabbiata, for example, means angry and is traditionally made with garlic, chili, tomatoes and olive oil and as such is simplicity itself. Amatriciana is very similar in composition except that pancetta/bacon is used.

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