One of the earliest and most famous tomato sauces in Italy, all’amatriciana has a rich history with humble roots in the small town of Amatrice. With only a handful of ingredients, this sauce comes together quickly and is tossed with pasta for a delicious meal without a long cook time. While there are several variations, the base has remained the same since the late 1700s.
Amatriciana is both the name of the sauce, and the pasta dish. While considered one of the famous Roman pasta dishes, along with carbonara, alla gricia, and cacio e pepe, amatriciana came from the small town of Amatrice. The dish is one of the earliest pasta recipes to include tomatoes and was most likely created as an evolution to alla gricia.
Like most of the authentic Italian pasta dishes, amatriciana is made from simple, quality ingredients and is a recipe that hasn’t changed much for 100s of years. The recipe came from ingredients that were local and available for workers to make a hearty meal.
PinThe Origins of Amatriciana
As mentioned before, the origins of this sauce can be traced back to the late 1700s and is one of the original tomato-based sauces found in Italy. Before this, another pasta known as gricia, or griscia, was popular in central Italy, not far from Amatrice, and was made from guanciale, black pepper, and pecorino cheese.
Amatrice itself was a small town in the province of Reiti, in the northern part of the Lazio region. At some point the people from Amatrice added tomato to this dish, and it eventually spread across the region. The earliest reference to this tomato sauce recipe was in a 1790 cookbook by Roman chef Francesco Leonardi. In the early 19th century, during the Napoleonic Wars (1798-1814), the recipe was spread across Italy by displaced soldiers and it slowly became a hit.
Sadly, on August 24th, 2016, the city of Amatrice was devastated by an earthquake that destroyed almost ¾ of the town. The area is still slowly trying to rebuild but so far is still mostly closed off to people. In March of 2020 though, the recipe for amatriciana was finally registered with the EU as a Traditional Guaranteed Specialty.
PinIngredients in all’Amatriciana
As mentioned before, like most traditional Italian dishes, amatriciana uses quality ingredients to create a rich yet basic meal that comes together easily. While there’s a few optional items, and some small differences between the traditional Amatrice version and the Roman version, the base recipe has remained almost the same since the 1700s.
PinPasta – The main thing to keep in mind with amatriciana is that dried pasta is preferable. While fresh pasta can be used, dried pasta is best because it can be cooked al dente and finished in the sauce while remaining somewhat toothsome. While almost any long or short pasta can be used, spaghetti is the only preferred choice in Amatrice itself. In Rome, spaghetti is often used as well, but bucatini has slowly become a popular choice.
In Amatrice they tend to use a rough textured, square cut spaghetti also, as it holds onto the sauce better. Other popular choices include penne, bucatini, rigatoni, mezze rigatoni, etc. I use bucatini here, but the rest of the recipe is traditional to Amatrice’s version of the sauce.
Guanciale – If you don’t do a lot of Italian cooking, this protein may sound unfamiliar to you. Guanciale is a seasoned and cured cut of pig cheek, or pork jowl. It is very popular in Italy but can be a little more difficult to find depending on where you live. If you can buy it, I definitely recommend trying it. The next best option would be pancetta, which is more widely available and like guanciale but comes from pork belly instead.
Chili – Some form of chili pepper is optional, but common in most recipes. Amatriciana isn’t a spicy sauce, but can sometimes have a bit of a bite to it. A fresh or dried chili is typically added to the pan with the guanciale, and then removed before serving. I don’t find it adds a lot of flavor, so I like to use a little bit of crushed red pepper that carries through the sauce more. Any 3 of these options are fine though.
Wine – Also optional, but common is the addition of some white wine to the sauce. Add this as the guanciale is almost done cooking and let it mostly evaporate before adding the tomatoes.
Tomato – Again, there’s several options with this ingredient as well. You could use fresh tomatoes, canned, peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed tomato, tomato sauce, or tomato paste. My preference, and typically the most used option, is a can of peeled San Marzano tomatoes. Finding that specific type fresh is difficult, but canned versions are in every grocery store.
Crushing the peeled tomatoes by hand or with a fork keeps the recipe rustic as well, and let’s you control how smooth or chunky a sauce you want. A 14oz can is all you need, but if you prefer a “soupier” tomato sauce, go for the 28oz can.
Pepper – Black pepper is the only real seasoning other than salted water for the pasta and the optional chili pepper. Like the other famous Roman pasta dishes, fresh herbs and additional seasoning isn’t typically used. Use fresh, coarsely ground black pepper and it to the sauce to taste.
Cheese – Like the other Roman pastas, the cheese of choice for amatriciana is pecorino. In Amatrice they typically used their own pecorino, which is less salty than the Roman version, but Pecorino Romano will be the one you can find internationally. If you’re not familiar with it, Pecorino Romano comes from the Lazio region of Italy and is made from sheep’s milk. Be sure to grate the cheese instead of shredding it in order for it to melt more easily.
What is Guanciale and How to Use it
If you’re not familiar with guanciale, it’s a type of cured pork that is cut from the cheek or jowl of a pig. It is then seasoned with salt, pepper, and herbs and cured for at least 3 months. Pancetta is similar but is cut from pork belly and cured from anywhere between 20 days and 4 months. Bacon is like pancetta, coming from pork belly, but is typically smoked which gives it a different flavor profile when used in Italian dishes. Guanciale also has a much higher ratio of fat to meat, which contributes to the flavor of dishes as the fat renders and is emulsified into the pan sauces.
In the US, the import of guanciale and other cured meats from Italy was banned from the 1970s until 2013, which has contributed to the obscurity of this ingredient in the country. Depending on where you live, it may be difficult to find this product. There are several online retailers that will ship it though, and if you can source it, it’s worth trying out.
If you can’t find it, I would recommend pancetta as the best alternative, which is more widely available at many grocery stores. If pancetta is still difficult to find or seems too expensive, bacon can be used instead. Be sure to use a decent quality bacon though and look for the thickest butcher cut you can find, do not use thin bacon.
If you’re not used to using Guanciale, here’s a quick tutorial on breaking down a chunk of it for cooking.
One side will have the skin on it. Using a sharp knife, remove the skin. You can discard this as it’s not very edible or save it for a stock flavoring.
Lay the guanciale flat and you’ll slice it with the grain. You should see a thin strip of meat between two layers of fat. Slice the guanciale around a ¼” thick, or about 3mm, roughly like thick cut bacon. Now turn those slices flat against the cutting board and slice against the grain into small strips, or lardons, about the same thickness as before.
Pan fry guanciale over medium-low to medium heat. As it cooks, the fat will render and create plenty of oil to cook itself in, so no added oil is needed.
Using Pecorino Romano in Italian Cooking
Pecorino Romano is an Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk and is famous in the Lazio region of Italy. It is a hard, salty cheese typically aged 8 months or longer for a grating cheese or as little as 5 months for a table cheese. Look for the 8+ month version for cooking applications. In the US, you may find cheese labeled “Romano”, but this is NOT the same and is a milder cheese made with cow’s milk.
When using pecorino in sauce recipes, the trick is to grate the cheese. Buy whole wedges and, using a box grater or something similar, grate the cheese, do not shred it. Grating the cheese allows it to melt more easily and smoothly when tossed with pasta, whereas shredding the cheese can leave a stringy texture that doesn’t fully emulsify properly.
One last important note when using both guanciale and Pecorino Romano in cooking is that both ingredients are salty. Normally when cooking pasta, the saying goes that the water should be “as salty as the Mediterranean Sea.” When using both ingredients however, you should salt the water about half as much as normal, otherwise the finished pasta dishes can be overly salty tasting.
How to Make Authentic Bucatini all’Amatriciana
Begin by slicing the guanciale into small strips or cubes and grating the Pecorino Romano. In a bowl, crush the peeled tomatoes by hand or with a fork and set aside.
Add the guanciale to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and turned translucent. If using a fresh or dried chili, slice it in half and add it to the pan when you add the guanciale. Pour in the wine, if using, and turn the heat up to medium high until it has mostly evaporated. If using crushed red pepper instead, add it when you add the wine.
While the wine is cooking out, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
Once the wine has mostly evaporated, add the crushed tomatoes to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste and stir occasionally while cooking. When the pot of water is almost to a boil, salt the water generously and add your pasta when it comes to a boil. Cook your pasta according to directions for about 1 minute short of al dente.
When the pasta is ready, use tongs or a pasta spoon to transfer the pasta into the pan with the sauce. Getting some of the starchy water in the sauce with the pasta is fine, and preferable. Add the grated cheese to the pasta, turn off the heat, and quickly mix and toss the pasta with the cheese and sauce until everything emulsifies together.
Plate the pasta and top with some more Pecorino Romano and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Roman Variations to Amatriciana
In Rome, all’amatriciana is usually referred to as alla’matriciana, or simply matriciana. This is because of the Romanesco dialect and a phonetic phenomenon called apheresis (basically when a vowel or syllable at the beginning of a word gets dropped). While in Amatrice they almost exclusively use spaghetti, bucatini has become the popular choice in Rome.
Other than the choice of pasta, and Rome’s preference for their own, saltier version of pecorino cheese, the recipes are mostly the same. One key difference you may find in Rome, however, is the addition of onion in the sauce, and sometimes garlic. Usually if garlic is used, a clove is smashed and added to the guanciale while cooking, and then removed before serving.
PinStoring Amatriciana
While best served fresh, you can also store amatriciana in the fridge for a day or two. I wouldn’t recommend freezing once mixed with the pasta, however.
If making the sauce ahead of time, or making a large batch, you can store the sauce without the pasta for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can freeze it in an airtight container for 1-2 months.
📋 Recipe
Authentic Bucatini all'Amatriciana
Ingredients
- 1 pound bucatini, or pasta of choice
- 4 ounces guanciale, see note
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, see note
- ¼ cup white wine, optional
- 14 ounce can peeled San Marzano tomatoes, see note
- Fresh, coarsely ground black pepper to taste
- ⅔ cup Pecorino Romano, grated
Directions
- Begin by slicing 4oz of guanciale into small strips or cubes and grating ⅔ cup Pecorino Romano. In a bowl, crush the 14oz can of peeled tomatoes by hand or with a fork and set aside.
- Add the guanciale to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and turned translucent. If using a fresh or dried chili, slice it in half and add it to the pan when you add the guanciale. Pour in the ¼ cup of white wine, if using, and turn the heat up to medium high until it has mostly evaporated. If using crushed red pepper instead, add it when you add the wine.
- While the wine is cooking out, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
- Once the wine has mostly evaporated, add the crushed tomatoes to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste and stir occasionally while cooking. When the pot of water is almost to a boil, salt the water generously and add your pasta when it comes to a boil. Cook your pasta according to directions for about 1 minute short of al dente.
- When the pasta is ready, use tongs or a pasta spoon to transfer the pasta into the pan with the sauce. Getting some of the starchy water in the sauce with the pasta is fine, and preferable. Add the grated cheese to the pasta, turn off the heat, and quickly mix and toss the pasta with the cheese and sauce until everything emulsifies together.
- Plate the pasta and top with some more Pecorino Romano and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Notes
Your Notes
Nutrition
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Steph
Not about the recipe just about the night owl cause I was born a night owl . So chers to you
Chris Pezzana
Thanks, I was too, so it seemed a fitting name for my site 🙂