Bucatini alla'amatriciana

This was one of my favorite dishes while I was living in Rome.  First, because bucatini is so much fun.  It looks like fat spaghetti, and is used in much the same way as spaghetti, but it's hollow in the center.  You'll get some impromptu music during the course of your meal... Second, because it just tastes amazing.  Don't let my picture fool you... it's so much more than pasta and chunks of tomato!  It's pretty simple to make, though some of the ingredients might be difficult to find.
Ingredients

- 1/4 lb of guanciale, cut into 1/4" cubes

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 1/2 onion, diced

- 2 thai chiles or chiles de arbol, minced or 1/4 tsp of pepper flakes

- 1 28oz can of peeled tomatoes (opt for the Italian or San Marzano varieties)

- 1/4 cup of freshly grated percorino cheese

- 1 12oz package of bucatini

- salt to taste

Look for tomatoes like this

Guanciale (pronounced guan-CHEE-AH-leh) is a cured Italian meat made from pork jowl or cheeks.  It's really fatty compared to other cured meats (like pancetta, which is made from pork belly) but the curing process gives it a much more interesting flavor.  You can substitute pancetta or slab bacon for the guanciale, but both have a higher meat-to-fat ratio than guanciale.  If you're using this recipe to impress, I'd suggest finding the guanciale.  If you're cooking for a weeknight dinner, go with the pancetta.  The cost difference between the two might also be a deciding factor for you.  You can find guanciale at specialty Italian grocers or butchers.  

Chunk of guanciale

Because guanciale is mostly fat, you really do need to prepare everything before you start cooking.  Once you start, it moves really quickly.  Try to get some meat in every cube, if possible.  You'll need the all-fat chunks to help flavor, but if you're completely opposed to serving them, take them out before you plate.

Chopping onions with a mezzaluna makes
it go much faster...and reduces the
crying time

Dried chiles de arbol from
my garden

1. Bring a pot of water to boil.  Don't break the bucatini in half to get them to fit in your pot... just use a bigger pot.  A large, deep stockpot would be best.  Once boiling, add the bucatini.  Allow to cook until the pasta is cooked through but not yet al dente (so check frequently).  This is will probably happen around the time you get to step 4 so just keep an eye on it.  Remove from the water to stop it from cooking. 

Ignore the sauce pan...use a stock pot instead

2. Over medium heat, cook the guanciale bits until they begin to brown.  You don't need to add any oil... the fat will take care of that for you.  Once they start to brown (only a couple minutes), remove from the pan and set aside, but leave the oil in the pan.  

3. In the same pan, sautee the onion, garlic and chiles until the onion is translucent.

4.  This is the messy part... Open the can of tomatoes and hand-crush each one.  Remove any skins or leaves that might have accidentally made it in to the can.  Pour any liquid remaining in the can into the pan.  Add the guanciale back in to the pan.  Allow to come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally.  You want most of the liquid to reduce... about 15 minutes.

Tomatoes just added...

...and now reduced

5. Add bucatini to the sauce.  And then add the cheese.  Use tongs to mix and get everything coated evenly.  Being mixed with sauce with cook the bucatini to the al dente stage.  Salt to taste (though between the guanciale and pecorino, it should be plenty salty).  Plate and sprinkle with a little more pecorino before serving.  Enjoy!


Chef's Tips
I used a stockpot to boil the pasta and a sautee pan to make the sauce.  After removing the water from the stockpot, I mixed everything in there... the sautee pan was not big enough to fit everything for mixing.

Of course, you can change the amount of chile you add based on personal preference.

Next summer I'll be trying this recipe with tomatoes from my garden.  To use fresh tomatoes, you'll need to boil them and then remove the skins.  They'll need to cool for a few hours before you can crush them by hand.  If you use fresh tomatoes, they many not have as much juice as their canned counterparts.  Use some of the pasta water if it is too dry.