Name: Bucatini all'Amatriciana
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 400 g bucatini; 180 g guanciale, cut into 1 cm lardons; 400 g tinned San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand; 80 g Pecorino Romano, finely grated; 1 dried peperoncino, crumbled; 60 ml dry white wine; 1 tsp fine sea salt; ½ tsp black pepper

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

The Roman classic from Amatrice: guanciale rendered until crisp, tomatoes cooked down in the rendered fat, and Pecorino stirred through at the end. Bucatini catches the sauce inside the hollow strand.

35 min total Serves 4 servings Easy

Before You Start

Guanciale is worth seeking out. Pancetta makes a good dish but not an amatriciana.

Onion and garlic are both traditionally absent. Amatrice takes this seriously.

Bucatini spits sauce — the hollow strand is a hazard. A napkin is not optional.

Cooking Bucatini all'Amatriciana

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Put the guanciale in a cold, wide pan and set over medium-low heat. Render slowly for 8 to 10 minutes until the pieces are crisp and a generous pool of fat has collected.
Lift out half the guanciale with a slotted spoon and reserve it for the top, so some stays crisp.
Add the crumbled peperoncino to the fat and swirl for 20 seconds, then pour in the wine and let it bubble away.
Add the crushed tomatoes and salt. Simmer at a lively bubble for 12 to 15 minutes, until the sauce darkens and the fat separates at the edges.
Cook the bucatini in well-salted water until 2 minutes short of al dente, reserving 250 ml of water.
Tip the drained pasta into the sauce with a splash of water and toss over the heat for 2 minutes so it finishes cooking in the sauce.
Off the heat, stir through most of the Pecorino and toss until glossy, loosening with more pasta water as needed.
Serve topped with the reserved crisp guanciale, the remaining Pecorino and plenty of black pepper.

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What's Going On Here

Guanciale is cured jowl, far fattier and more aromatic than pancetta, and rendering it slowly from a cold pan produces a pool of seasoned fat that becomes the base of the sauce. Cooking the tomatoes in that fat rather than in olive oil is what gives amatriciana its particular depth.

Storage and Reheating

Refrigerate 2 days. Reheat in a pan with a splash of water; the microwave makes the guanciale chewy.

Swaps and Variations

A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Good With

A Cesanese or a young Montepulciano
Serve with nothing but bread
Finish with fresh figs

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Rosemary Focaccia, Creamy Parmesan Polenta, Ciabatta.