Pasta amatriciana is one of the four roman pasta recipes – made with bucatini pasta, canned tomatoes and guanciale – it’s easy to make and packs in so much flavor! Top with pecorino romano, and you have a perfect plate of pasta.
Amatriciana might be my favorite of the roman pastas, well it’s probably a tie with pasta alla gricia, although you can never go wrong with carbonara or cacio e pepe either! They’re just all so good.
Amatriciana is the only pasta out of the main Roman pasta dishes that uses tomato. The guanciale adds a nice smoky flavor to the sauce, and combined with the pecorino romano, it creates a beautiful amatriciana sauce with amazing flavor – something a little different froom a classic tomato sauce.
Origins
Amatriciana is an evolution of pasta alla gricia (the original Roman pasta). It wasn’t until the 17th/18th century that tomatoes started being used in Italian cuisine, so tomatoes were added to the gricia and the amatriciana was born!
The first amatriciana was made in the city of Amatrice in the region Lazio, hence the name.
The Amatriciana recipe became more and more famous in Rome over the 19th and early 20th centuries, due to a centuries-old connection between Rome and Amatrice. Amatriciani (people from Amatrice) would travel to Rome to sell their meat, cheese and produce, and many Amatriciani migrated to Rome with the decline of sheep farming. They found employment in Roman restaurants and helped the dish become more popular, and become a staple of Roman cuisine.
The recipe was so well liked, and it quickly became considered a classic of Roman dish, even though it originated in Amatrice.
Ingredients
Bucatini – This is the traditional noodle to use in this dish. They’re like spaghetti, but have a hole in the middle, meaning that the sauce will get into the centre of the noodle- delicious! You can also use spaghetti as well.
It’s also quite common to see mezze maniche (mezze rigatoni) used in this dish. They are exactly like rigatoni but shorter.
Guanciale – Guanciale is the cheek or jowl of a pig (it’s cured like prosciutto) and used in many roman pasta dishes. In an amatriciana recipe, the guanciale is cut into strips, fried until it’s crispy, and gives a beautiful smoky flavor to the whole dish.
Tomatoes – Canned Peeled plum or san marzano tomatoes are used to make the amatriciana sauce. It is the only roman pasta dish that uses tomatoes.
White wine – Used to deglaze the pan once the guanciale is fried
Pecorino romano – A staple in Roman cuisine, this sheep’s milk cheese adds a great bite to the dish
Spicy chilis – To add a bit of heat
Salt and pepper
It is important to note that this a traditional recipe for pasta amatriciana and the original recipe does not have garlic or onions in it. In fact, the people of Amatrice are quite strict about the ingredients in an Amatriciana. They ridiculed famed Italian chef Carlo Cracco for admitting that he added garlic to his amatriciana.
It also doesn’t contain any fresh herbs like basil or parsley in it either.
In fact, the town on Amatrice on their city website, has published the traditional recipe for the bucatini or spaghetti all’amatriciana.
How to make pasta amatriciana – step by step
In a large pan that will also fit the pasta, throw in the guanciale (photo 1)
Bring the pan to medium heat and cook the guanciale until crispy, about 10-15 minutes.
Once gunaciale is crispy, add white wine and deglaze (photo 2). Let the alcohol evaporate off, a few minutes.
Remove the guanciale from the pan, but keep the rendered fat in.
While guanciale is cooking, bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt when it comes to a boil.
Mash the tomatoes with a fork or your hands and add them to the pan with the rendered guanciale fat (photo 3)
Add chilii pepper, black pepper to taste, along with a little bit of salt (very little).
Let the sauce cook for 20-25 minutes, until reduced (photo 4)
When there are about 10-12 minutes left for the sauce to finish cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook the pasta until just before al dente. This is important because the pasta will finish cooking in the pan.
Add the guanciale back to the sauce (photo 5)
Add the pasta to the pan with the tomato sauce (photo 6)
Mix together for a few minutes, until sauce absorbs into the pasta.
Add pecorino romano and mix again (photos 7 & 8)
Remove from heat, plate and top with additional pecorino romano. Enjoy!
FAQs
Amatriciana pasta originates from the town of Amatrice in Lazio. People from Amatrice are called amatriciani. In Italian, pasta is a feminine singular noun, making it amatriciana.
What is the difference between arrabbiata and amatriciana?
Both amatriciania and arrabbiata are spicy tomato-based sauces.
But amatriciana has guanciale in it (cured pork cheek) – and arrabbiata does not, so arrabbiata is vegetarian, while amatriciana is not. Arrabbiata also contains garlic and parsley – while amatriciana does not.
Arrabbiata is a more simple sauce, an amatriciana is smokier and more complex in flavor.
Top tips
- Type of pasta to use: bucatini is the most traditional pasta for this dish, but spaghetti will also work, and if you want to try a short pasta, rigatoni or mezze maniche (half rigatoni) will work as well
- If you can’t get your hands on guanciale, you can use pancetta. Pancetta is less fatty than guanciale so you will need to add a bit of olive oil to the pan to help it cook down. The guanciale doesn’t need any oil added to the pan because it’s fatty enough. If you’re in a pinch, you could also use bacon.
- Chilis to use: you can use dried red chili peppers to make this dish, or you can easily use fresh chili peppers, or dried chili flakes.
- Be careful when adding the wine to the pan with the guanciale – it will splatter
- Amatriciana is a naturally salty dish – Guanciale is very salty, and pecorino as well. You will also salt the pasta water. So you only need to add very little salt to the sauce when seasoning.
More authentic Italian pasta recipes
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Amatriciana Pasta
Pasta amatriciana is one of the four roman pasta recipes – made with bucatini pasta, canned tomatoes and guanciale – it's easy to make and packs in so much flavor! Top with pecorino romano, and you have a perfect plate of pasta.
Ingredients
- 300 grams bucatini pasta
- 1 cup guanciale cut into strips
- 1 can peeled plum tomatoes 796mL can
- dry chili pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup white wine pinot grigio or similar
- 1/3 cup grated pecorino romano plus more for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
-
In a large pan that will also fit the pasta, throw in the guanciale. Bring the pan to medium heat and cook the guanciale until crispy, about 10-15 minutes.
-
Once gunaciale is crispy, add white wine and deglaze. Let the alcohol evaporate off, a few minutes.
-
Remove the guanciale from the pan and set aside, but keep the rendered fat in.
-
While guanciale is cooking, bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt when it comes to a boil.
-
Mash the tomatoes with a fork or your hands and add them to the pan with the rendered guanciale fat. Add chilii pepper, black pepper to taste, along with a little bit of salt (very little). Let the sauce cook for 20-25 minutes, until reduced.
-
When there are about 10-12 minutes left for the sauce to finish cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook the pasta until just before al dente. This is important because the pasta will finish cooking in the pan.
-
Add the guanciale back to the sauce.
-
Add the pasta to the pan with the tomato sauce. Mix together for a few minutes, until sauce absorbs into the pasta. Add pecorino romano and mix again.
-
Remove from heat, plate and top with additional pecorino romano. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Type of pasta to use: bucatini is the most traditional pasta for this dish, but spaghetti will also work, and if you want to try a short pasta, rigatoni or mezze maniche (half rigatoni) will work as well.
- If you can’t get your hands on guanciale, you can use pancetta. Pancetta is less fatty than guanciale so you will need to add a bit of olive oil to the pan to help it cook down. The guanciale doesn’t need any oil added to the pan because it’s fatty enough. If you’re in a pinch, you could also use bacon.
- Chilis to use: you can use dried red chili peppers to make this dish, or you can easily use fresh chili peppers, or dried chili flakes.
- Be careful when adding the wine to the pan with the guanciale – it will splatter
- Amatriciana is a naturally salty dish – Guanciale is very salty, and pecorino as well. You will also salt the pasta water. So you only need to add very little salt to the sauce when seasoning.
