SHARE
COPY LINK

PASTA

How to make authentic pasta all’Amatriciana

There's no need to complicate things: Amatriciana pasta sauce has only three ingredients. Food writer Silvana Lanzetta shows us how to make it.

How to make authentic pasta all'Amatriciana
Pasta All'Amatriciana. Photo: DepositPhotos

The shepherds' town of Amatrice is famous for having birthed the most-loved pasta dish in the world: bucatini all’Amatriciana.

Over the years I’ve read many recipes, all of them making this very simple dish extremely complicated by adding useless ingredients.

However, Italian food is very simple as most of it comes from the peasant tradition. They had very few ingredients to use, but plenty of imagination.

READ ALSO: Why you won't find spaghetti bolognese in Italy

The Amatriciana sauce needs only three ingredients: tomato passata, guanciale (pig cheek fat) or pancetta, and pecorino cheese (never parmesan).

The quality of the meat and the cheese is obviously paramount, as they give all the flavour, but using the pancetta and the pecorino found at your local supermarket will also give amazing results.

Ingredients:

  • 350 gr bucatini or spaghetti

  • 130 gr guanciale or pancetta

  • 400 gr tomato passata or canned chopped tomatoes

  • 40 gr Pecorino Romano (grated)

  • Salt (to taste)

Instructions:

Step 1

Cut the guanciale into thin strips or small cubes. Heat a non-stick frying pan, then add the meat and cook until lightly golden. No need to add any oil, as the fat from the guanciale is enough.

Add the tomatoes and let simmer for 15 minutes. Season carefully, as the guanciale is already very salty.

Step 2

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the bucatini and cook according to the instruction on the package. Once cooked, drain well and add to the Amatriciana sauce. Mix well.

Step 3

Sautee the pasta for a minute. Sprinkle with grated pecorino cheese and serve immediately.

Tip:

Enjoy your bucatini all’Amatriciana with a glass of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

More recipes for summer:

Italian bruschetta with tomatoes and basil

Pugliese green beans in tomato sauce

Strawberry and limoncello tiramisù

Silvana Lanzetta. Photo: Private

Silvana Lanzetta was born into a family of pasta makers from Naples and spent 17 years as a part-time apprentice in her grandmother’s pasta factory. She specializes in making pasta entirely by hand and runs regular classes and workshops in London.

Find out more at her website, Pastartist.com, including this recipe and others.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

FOOD AND DRINK

Do Italians really eat pasta every day?

Pasta is the foundation of Italian cuisine and Italians have a reputation for eating it nearly every day. But is this reality or myth?

Do Italians really eat pasta every day?

Pasta is the cornerstone of Italian cuisine and an essential staple of Italians’ diet, hence the popularity of the adage Toglietemi tutto ma non la pasta! (‘Take everything away from me except pasta’).

But there is a widespread belief among foreign nationals that people in the bel paese eat it every single day of the week. 

Is this reality or myth?

According to a survey from research platform YouGov Italia, ‘only’ 17 percent of Italians eat pasta every day or at least six days a week. 

The majority of Italians (37 percent) consume pasta two to three times a week, while 30 percent say they eat it four to five times a week. 

Finally, 8 percent eat pasta just once a week.

While the survey seems to disprove the claim that Italians generally eat pasta every day (only a minority does), does that mean that they are not as big pasta eaters as we may have originally thought?

Not really. 

Italians are still the leading pasta consumers in the world as the average person in the country eats some 23.1 kilograms of it every year (that’s nearly two kilograms a month).

READ ALSO: Ask an Italian: How do you sauce pasta properly?

For context, people in neighbouring France and Germany only consume 8.3 and 7.9 kg per capita a year, whereas the average American eats about 9 kg every year.

Further, yearly per capita consumption in the UK stands at an average of just 3.5 kg, according to a report from pasta maker Barilla.

So, while they may not have it every day, Italians do eat quite a lot of pasta over the course of a year. 

But how do they never get tired of it? 

One of the main reasons behind Italians’ unbreakable bond with the high-carb food is variety. 

Italians are extremely creative when it comes to pasta and they rarely eat the same dish twice in a row as they like to experiment with a wide range of recipes and sauces.

READ ALSO: Ten golden rules for cooking pasta like an Italian

Further, there are over 350 types of pasta in Italy, which means that you could potentially eat a different pasta shape almost every day of the year.

Another reason why most Italians have pasta multiple times a week is that they tend to eat it in moderation, steering well clear of potential carb overloads. 

While they may have a large, high-calorie pasta dish (for instance, lasagne or pasta al ragù) on weekends or on special occasions, people in the country generally go for lighter recipes and sauces on normal days, with portions generally going from 80 to 120 grams per person.

Also, Italians very rarely eat pasta twice a day, with the majority of people having it for lunch and then opting for a non-carb-based dish in the evening.

SHOW COMMENTS