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)
Autor: Damián Serrano Personas: 4 Tiempo: Dificultad: Fácil
Ingredientes
- 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
Elaboración
- Brown the bacon in a pan with a little of olive oil over medium-high heat.
- 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.
- Add the tomato, the teaspoon of sugar (to reduce the tomato acidity) and season also with salt and pepper.
- Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
- In the meantime, bring 2 liters of water to a boil.
- When the water boils add a tablespoon of salt and when boiling again add the spaghetti.
- Cook the spaghetti following the directions in the packet.
- When they are cooked, drain them well and mix with the tomato sauce (which should be still hot).
- Serve immediately.
- In the table, you can sprinkle some grated pecorino cheese.
Sugerencias, trucos y consejos
- 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.
To know more, you can read the history of bucatini all’amatriciana [5]