Bucatini Amatriciana Food

CLASSIC AMATRICIANA BUCATINI

Steps:

• Put the tomatoes into a food processor in batches and whizz to a fine pulp. Sieve into a large pan, in batches again, pressing through as much tomato as you can with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 20-30 mins until the sauce has reduced by a third to about 700ml. This homemade passata can now be frozen.
• Put the bacon or pancetta into a cold, large, heavy-based frying pan. Place over a medium heat - the fat will slowly melt and the bacon will cook. Add the whole chillies (don't worry, they come out at the end) and cook for 8-10 mins with the bacon until the bacon is sizzling and golden all over. Stir in the tomato sauce, bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 mins.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta, then drain well. While still hot, tip it into the sauce, sprinkle with most of the cheese and stir well. Remove the whole chillies, dish the pasta onto plates and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Cut the pancetta or prosciutto into chunks less than one-half inch thick. Place in a saucepan with the olive oil and fry over low heat for 15 minutes, until all the fat has been rendered out and the meat is very crisp. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add the onion to the pan and saute over medium heat for five minutes.
• Drain the tomatoes, finely chop them and add to the onion in the pan. Season with red-pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of cold water to a boil and add salt to taste. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 9 to 12 minutes, depending on the brand. Drain well.
• Transfer the cooked sauce to a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and the reserved meat and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the cheese and mix very well. Transfer the pasta to a warm platter and serve immediately.

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in bucatini and return to a boil. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until bucatini is tender, about 11 minutes. Drain.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic cloves; cook until golden brown, about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and discard. Add guanciale; cook and stir until crisp and golden, about 4 minutes. Add onion and red pepper flakes; cook and stir until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, salt, and black pepper. Simmer tomato sauce until flavors combine, about 10 minutes.
• Stir bucatini and Pecorino Romano cheese into tomato sauce and toss until evenly coated.

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Cook guanciale in a large deep skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp and fat is fully rendered, about 10 minutes. Stir in crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and simmer until thickened and tomatoes have broken down, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until just al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Add pasta to skillet along with reserved cooking liquid and cook over high heat, stirring and tossing, until pasta is thickly coated with sauce, about 3 minutes. Stir in oil and cheese and serve.
• Do ahead
• The sauce can be cooked up to 3 days ahead. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Sauce, part 1: Dice the guanciale, then sauté in olive oil over medium heat, 6-8 minutes or until the guanciale is crisp.
• Pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes less than what the box advises. (Chef Mantuano advises using bronze-cut pasta for his dishes. These noodles are made with bronze molds instead of Teflon, for a surface texture that's a bit rougher and more porous. This greatly helps the sauce to cling to each noodle.)
• Sauce, part 2: Add the tomatoes to the crispy guanciale and bring to a simmer. Using a wooden spoon, stir the sauce occasionally, breaking up the tomatoes as they are cooking, 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Assembly: Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, then drain the bucatini. Return the pasta to the pot. Season the sauce with chili flakes and black pepper. Pour sauce and reserved pasta water into the pot and cook over low heat, tossing the pasta with the sauce to allow them to "marry," 2 minutes. The pasta should still be firm to the bite.
• Transfer the pasta to a platter. Grate Pecorino Romano directly on top, about ½ cup. Serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table.

BUCATINI AMATRICIANA WITH RICOTTA SALATA

Steps:

• If using, cut pancetta into i/4 inch dice. Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add pancetta and cook, stirring, until it crisps and renders its fat, about 10 minutes. Remove pancetta and set aside. Break into small pieces when cooled. Remove all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan and discard.
• Add oil and onion and cook, stirring often, until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Add red pepper flakes then add tomatoes and crush against the pan if using whole. Cook, stir and crush tomatoes into small bits, for 5 minutes.
• Simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While sauce cooks, bring large pot of water to a rolling boil with salt (about 1 Tbsp for every 2 quarts - it should be salty). Fifteen minutes before sauce is done, add pasta to water. Stir and then cook until al dente, 11-12 minutes or according to package directions.
• Reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water, drain pasta in colander. Add butter and toss quickly, then transfer to pan with sauce. Stir until strands are thinly but evenly coated. Add a little cooking liquid if pasta seems dry. Add half Ricotta Salata and stir to combine well.
• Transfer pasta to large bowl or platter and sprinkle with pancetta and remaining cheese. Serve hot.
• For Vegetarian omit the pancetta or use vegetarian bacon.

BUCATINI AMATRICIANA ALLA ROMANA

Steps:

• In a skillet sauté onion and garlic in a sufficient amount of olive oil.
• When they are well cooked, add the crumbled bacon and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper (or red pepper).
• *if you are using the tinned tomatoes, mush them up in small pieces.
• Bring to boil and cook for several minutes until the flavours are well blended and some of the extra liquid is evaporated.
• Meanwhile cook the pasta al dente, and drain.
• Toss the tomato mixture together with the pasta, serve with plenty of freshly grated cheese.

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Coat a large saucepan with olive oil. Add the guanciale and saute over low heat. Cook until it is brown and crispy and has rendered a lot of fat. Remove and reserve 1/3 of the guanciale for garnish. Bring the pan to a medium heat and add the onions and crushed red pepper. Season generously with salt, to taste. Cook the onions until they are translucent, starting to turn golden and are very aromatic. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for about 1 hour, tasting periodically. Adjust the salt, as needed.
• Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the instructions on the package. Remove 3 or 4 ladlefuls of the sauce from the pot to a bowl, as an insurance policy. You can always add it back in but it's harder to take out once the pasta is in the pan. You're looking for the perfect ratio between pasta and sauce. Drain the pasta from the water and add to the pot of sauce. Stir to coat with the sauce. This is how you always finish pasta; you cook it in the sauce to perform the marriage of the pasta and the sauce. Add more sauce, if necessary. Add in the cheese and drizzle with olive oil to really bring the marriage together. Toss to coat and serve in shallow bowls garnished with cheese and the reserved guanciale. Sprinkle with chives to finish, if using.
• YUUUMMMEEEEE!

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add half of guanciale and sauté until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer guanciale to paper towels to drain (do not clean skillet). Reserve for garnish.
• Add 2 tablespoons oil to same skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and peperoncino; sauté until peperoncino darkens, about 2 minutes. Add onion and remaining guanciale; sauté until onion is translucent and fat has rendered from guanciale, about 10 minutes. Stir in vinegar; cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes; simmer 6 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot.
• Add tomato sauce and cheese to pasta and toss, adding some of reserved pasta cooking liquid if dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to bowl. Sprinkle with reserved guanciale and serve.