Recipe: Bucatini all'amatriciana

the appetizer:

Pasta Sfoglia by Ron and Colleen Suhanosky, includes recipes like Fresh Egg Pasta; Triangoloni, ricotta, amaretti, radicchio, balsamic; and Bucatini all'amatriciana.

Cookbook

Bucatini all'amatriciana

Serves 4-6

The Italians would say that the true name for this dish should be bucatini all 'Amatrice, after the town of its origin, Amatrice, which is northeast of Rome. As the recipe traveled farther away from the town, it took the name by which most people recognize it now, bucatini all 'Amatriciana.

Whatever it's called, I'm devoted to its combination of flavors—tangy tomato sauce that is given heft with the addition of the salty, peppery guanciale. It makes me very happy to be able to re-create a sauce that tastes just like my memories of eating it in Italy.

1 tablespoon grape seed oil
3/4 pound 1/4-inch diced guanciale (see Resources, page 194 of the book)
1 medium red onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 pound good-quality bucatini
One 1-pound 12-ounce can peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Grated pecorino Romano, optional garnish

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the grape seed oil and guanciale to a 10-inch skillet. Turn on the heat to medium high. Cook until the guanciale has rendered its fat and is crispy and deep gold, about 6 to 8 minutes. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

2. Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally so that the onions cook evenly, until the onions are translucent and tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the vinegar.

3. Add the bucatini to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.

4. Use your hands to squeeze and break up the tomatoes directly into tile skillet. Stir in the salt and black pepper.

5. Use a wire-mesh skimmer or tongs to remove the bucatini from the pot and place them directly into the skillet with the sauce. Stir to combine.

6. Serve immediately with grated pecorino Romano, if desired.

from:
Pasta Sfoglia
From Our Table To Yours, More Than 100 Fresh, Seasonal Pasta Dishes
by Ron and Colleen Suhanosky
Wiley 2009
Hardcover; $29.95; 204 pages
ISBN-10: 0470371331
ISBN: 978-0-470-37133-6
Recipe reprinted by permission.

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