Spaghetti all'Amatriciana
Pasta with Guanciale, Tomato and Pecorino, the Amatrice Way
Guanciale, tomato, pecorino, a little chilli. No onion and no garlic: the town of Amatrice, which gave the sauce its name, is firm on the point, and since 2020 the EU has agreed with it.
Amatriciana tradizionale was registered by the EU as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed in March 2020. The registration names guanciale, tomato, pecorino, olive oil, white wine and chilli, and excludes garlic, onion and pancetta.
The municipal recipe, as reproduced in the Italian press, is for 500 g of pasta: 125 g of guanciale, a spoonful of olive oil, a little dry white wine, 400 g of San Marzano tomatoes, a piece of chilli and 100 g of grated pecorino. The guanciale is fried and lifted out while the tomato cooks, then returned.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 125 g guanciale, cut into strips about 5 mm thick
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small dried chilli, left whole
- 50 ml dry white wine
- 400 g tin of San Marzano or other whole plum tomatoes, seeds removed, torn
- 500 g spaghetti
- 100 g pecorino, finely grated
- Salt
Method
- Fry the guanciale Heat the oil, chilli and guanciale in a wide frying pan over a medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until the fat is translucent and the edges are golden. Add the wine and let it evaporate.
- Cook the tomato Lift the guanciale out with a slotted spoon and keep it warm. Add the tomatoes to the fat in the pan with a pinch of salt and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until thickened. Remove the chilli and return the guanciale.
- Cook the pasta Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti in salted water until al dente. Drain well.
- Combine Tip the pasta into a warm bowl, toss with the pecorino, then add the sauce and toss again. Serve at once, with more pecorino at the table.
Taking the guanciale out while the tomato cooks keeps it from going soft.