Spicy Tomato and Pancetta Spaghetti Recipe (Spaghetti all’Amatriciana)

This is one of my dishes with a story to tell. This Spaghetti all’Amatriciana is my first pasta dish I ate in Italy. An Italian friend of mine cooked them for me in Rome. Besides, she told me that this is a classic recipe and there is also a version made ​​with bucatini (the empty spaghetti). What I like most of this recipe is the flavor that gives these spaghetti chilli and tomato sauce with the bacon… Yum! And of course, since this is a fairly traditional dish in Italy, the recipe comes straight from the book: “The Silver Spoon”

Spicy Tomato and Pancetta Spaghetti Recipe (Spaghetti all’Amatriciana)

Average Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Serves: 4 Time: 45 m Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 400 g of spaghetti
• 100 g of bacon or guanciale, cut into cubes
• 1 kg of tomatoes, peeled, without seeds and cut into cubes or mixed in the blender
• 1 small red chilli, without seeds and chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• Salt and pepper
• Pecorino cheese to sprinkle

Directions

1. Brown the bacon in a pan with a little of olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. When the bacon is gold and brown, add the chopped onion and chilli and cook with bacon on medium heat until the onion becomes transparent.
3. Add the tomato, the teaspoon of sugar (to reduce the tomato acidity) and season also with salt and pepper.
4. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the sauce thickens. 
5. In the meantime, bring 2 liters of water to a boil.
6. When the water boils add a tablespoon of salt and when boiling again add the spaghetti.
7. Cook the spaghetti following the directions in the packet.
8. When they are cooked, drain them well and mix with the tomato sauce (which should be still hot).
9. Serve immediately.
10. In the table, you can sprinkle some grated pecorino cheese.

Hints, Tips, and Tricks

• The original recipe uses guanciale instead of bacon.
• Have always the sauce ready to be mixed with the spaghetti as they finish to cook.
• You do not need to use the entire chilli, adjust it to your liking. You can also replace it by cayenne pepper.
• You can use instead your favorite pasta cheese.
• Try the recipe with bucatini instead of spaghetti.
• You can use already prepared tomato sauce for a quick version of this recipe.

 

Categories: espaguetis pasta receta tradicional recipe

Tags: espaguetis italiana picante tomate

To know more, you can read the history of bucatini all’amatriciana