Pasta all'Amatriciana
- Yield 4
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 25 minutes
- Total 35 minutes
Pasta all'Amatriciana is a pasta recipe on Avoteb. The yield on the card is 4. Plan on 35 minutes from start to plate. The amounts and the method are both on this page.
Ingredients
Yield: 4 servings
- 1 pound (~500 grams) uncooked pasta (I used mezzi rigatoni)
- 4 1/2 ounces (125 grams) guanciale
- 1/4 cup (50 mL) dry white wine
- 1 (28-ounce or 794 grams) can San Marzano whole tomatoes, drained
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 1/2 ounces (100 grams) Pecorino Romano
- fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Method
Prepare the pasta water. Fill a large stockpot about half full of water (roughly 3 quarts), add 2 tablespoons fine sea salt, and bring the water to a boil.
Slice the guanciale into ¼-inch-thick slices. Then cut each slice into roughly ½ x 1-inch pieces. (It can help to freeze the guanciale for 10 minutes beforehand to make it easier to cut.)
Leave the guanciale. Warm a large sauté pan over medium-a low burner. Tip in the guanciale to the pan and cook, stirring and flipping occasionally, until the guanciale is golden brown and crispy and the fat has rendered, about 10 minutes. (Keep a close eye on the guanciale so that it does not burn.) Using a slotted spoon, move the guanciale to a separate plate. Tip the remaining fat into a heatproof measuring cup. Measure out ¼ cup of the fat to save, then discard the rest.
Let it bubble gently the sauce. Carefully add the wine to the saucepan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits stuck left on the bottom of the pan while the wine simmers. Take your hands to roughly crush the tomatoes into small pieces, then add them to the saucepan. Tip in the crushed red pepper flakes, cooked guanciale, the reserved guanciale fat and stir to combine. Let the sauce continue to let it bubble gently on medium-low while the pasta cooks, stirring it occasionally and adding in a ¼ cup of the starchy pa
Bring to a boil the pasta. Once the pasta water reaches a rapid boil, add the pasta. Leave stirring occasionally, until the pasta is about 2 minutes shy of al dente. (The center of the pasta should still have just a slight crunch.)
Emulsify the sauce. Take a spider strainer or tongs to immediately move the pasta to the sauté pan with the tomato sauce. (Be sure to save all of the remaining starchy pasta water in the stockpot.) Gently toss the pasta continuously in the sauce for 2-3 minutes until the pasta is al dente, adding in an extra ¼ cup of the remaining starchy pasta water as needed anytime the sauce seems too dry.
Finish the pasta. Turn off the heat. Gradually add in the cheese and toss gently until the cheese has melted and the sauce is glossy, adding in an extra few tablespoons of the starchy pasta water when needed to thin out the sauce.
Plate Plate while it is hot, garnished with an extra sprinkle of cheese and twist of black pepper.
