Description
Create a taste of Italy in your own kitchen with this easy Bucatini all’Amatriciana recipe!
This iconic Roman pasta dish is famous for its signature spicy tomato sauce, infused with rendered guanciale or pancetta, chili flakes, and plenty of garlic—all made from scratch in 25 minutes or less! Toss with chewy bucatini for a quick dinner that tastes just as good as your favorite trattoria.
Perfect for lazy weeknights and easy entertaining!
Ingredients
Scale
- 12 ounces DeLallo Bucatini or pasta of choice
- 1 tablespoon DeLallo Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 8 ounces pancetta or guanciale, diced into ¼-inch cubes (see Recipe Notes)
- 8 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
- 1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup dry unoaked white wine
- 2 cups DeLallo Passata (see Recipe Notes)
- ⅓ cup finely grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
- for serving, as desired: additional grated cheese, finely chopped fresh parsley, extra virgin olive oil, etc.
Instructions
- Boil the pasta: Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the bucatini and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, to al dente according to package directions. Carefully dip a liquid measuring cup into the pot to reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water and set aside. Carefully drain the pasta—do not rinse. Tip! ⇢ For a perfectly timed meal, wait to drop the pasta until the amatriciana sauce is simmering, Step 4. (Learn more! ⇢ How to Cook Pasta Perfectly Every Single Time!)
- Render the pancetta: To a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and pancetta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders and the pancetta becomes golden and crispy, about 5-6 minutes. If desired, reserve about ⅓ of the crispy pancetta for garnish.
- Cook the aromatics: To the skillet with the pancetta, add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until the garlic is just beginning to turn golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
- Prepare the amatriciana sauce: Deglaze the pan by slowly pouring the white wine into the skillet, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Let the wine simmer for 2-3 minutes, until reduced, then carefully stir in the tomato passata. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired. Simmer 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Toss the bucatini all’Amatriciana: Add the cooked bucatini and grated cheese to the amatriciana sauce. Toss to combine well—the sauce should evenly coat the pasta. Add in some of the reserved pasta water if the sauce needs to loosen up a little; increase the heat or add in a little more cheese if it needs to tighten up more. Cook 1-2 minutes longer, allowing the pasta to meld with the sauce, then remove from the heat.
- Serve immediately: Divide the bucatini all’Amatriciana into pasta bowls. Top with reserved pancetta, extra grated cheese, finely chopped parsley, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Jess’ Tips and Tricks:
- Pancetta vs guanciale: Pasta all’Amatriciana is traditionally prepared with guanciale, Italian cured pork jowl. It’s super rich and absolutely delicious! If you can find it, definitely feel free to use it for this recipe; it’s a little hard to come by in my neighborhood, so I often use good-quality pancetta instead. Pancetta is cured pork belly—kind of like unsmoked Italian bacon. It’s meatier and leaner than guanciale, but still creates a deliciously rich amatriciana sauce. Widely available at most conventional grocery stores, you can typically find pancetta already diced up in an individual container near the cured meats and bacon, or cut-to-order at the deli counter. If you cannot find either, feel free to use regular American-style bacon—thick, center-cut bacon works best for this recipe.
- Passata is uncooked Italian tomato puree made by running plum tomatoes through a food mill to remove the seeds and stems—a great shortcut ingredient to keep stocked in your pantry! DeLallo’s is fantastic. If you cannot find passata, canned whole tomatoes work well too—place the tomatoes and their juices in a food processor, then pulse to chop the tomatoes as chunky or smooth as you’d like. Whether using passata or processed canned tomatoes, you’ll need about 2 cups for this recipe; reserve any remaining for making another sauce, soup/stew, or pizza night.
Storage, Reheating, and Freezing:
- Storage and Reheating: Leftover bucatini all’Amatriciana can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Reheat on the stovetop in a skillet over low heat, adding an extra splash of water or cooking stock to loosen up the carbonara sauce as needed, until warmed through.
- Freezing Instructions: Amatriciana sauce is also incredibly freezer-friendly. Transfer cooled amatriciana sauce (after Step 4) to a freezer container. Freeze up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen amatriciana sauce in the refrigerator overnight or submerge the freezer container in room temperature water for a quicker thaw. Reheat in a skillet. If the thawed sauce is a little watery at first, simply allow any residual water to simmer out. If the thawed sauce is too thick, simply add in a splash of water or stock until your desired consistency is reached.