Amatriciana Bucatini

Instructions

1. Boil the bucatini in salted water, draining it 2 minutes before the time on the package. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.
2. Cut the guanciale into 1cm pieces, and mince the onion and garlic.
3. Separate the Italian parsley stems from the leaves and chop each. Add the chopped stems while sautéing, and set the chopped leaves aside for garnish.
4. Cut the tomato puree with kitchen scissors or chop it finely with a knife. If you don’t have tomato puree, cherry tomatoes work as a substitute.
5. Heat a pan and cook the guanciale over low heat.
6. Once the guanciale is cooked, push it to one side of the pan. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil on the other side, add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook.
7. Once the onion turns translucent, add the chopped parsley stems and the crumbled chili flakes, and mix well.
8. Add the tomato puree, cover, and simmer gently over low heat for about 5 minutes.
9. Uncover, add the bucatini, and let it simmer over low heat for 1 minute so the sauce soaks fully into the noodles.
10. Sprinkle in 0.5 tbsp grated pecorino, and if it looks too thick, loosen it with a little pasta water or olive oil.
11. Plate and finish with the reserved Italian parsley, pepper, and the remaining 0.5 tbsp grated pecorino.

Tips

• Amatriciana, alongside carbonara, is one of Rome’s signature pastas, traditionally made with guanciale — cured pork jowl.
• Bucatini, with its hollow center, soaks up sauce especially well and pairs beautifully with amatriciana — but any noodle at least as thick as spaghetti will work.
• Biting into guanciale alongside the light tomato sauce releases a burst of rendered pork fat that’s completely different from bacon in both flavor and texture.
• Add pungent, full-flavored pecorino along with sharp chili flakes and pepper, and you’ve got a bowl that pairs perfectly with a bottle of red wine.
• When ingredients cook at different speeds in the same pan, the trick is to keep them separate while cooking and combine them only at the end.

Amatriciana Bucatini
Equipment: pot, frying pan, knife, cutting board
Ingredients (1 serving)

- bucatini 80g
- guanciale 2½ slices (bacon works too)
- tomato puree 150g
- garlic 1 clove
- red chili flakes 1
- onion ¼
- pecorino cheese 1 tbsp, grated (parmesan or Grana Padano works too)
- parsley 5g
- olive oil 2 tbsp
- pasta water ½ tbsp
- salt 1 tbsp (for pasta water)
- black pepper a pinch

Instructions
1. Boil the bucatini in salted water, draining it 2 minutes before the time on the package. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.
2. Cut the guanciale into 1cm pieces, and mince the onion and garlic.
3. Separate the Italian parsley stems from the leaves and chop each. Add the chopped stems while sautéing, and set the chopped leaves aside for garnish.
4. Cut the tomato puree with kitchen scissors or chop it finely with a knife. If you don't have tomato puree, cherry tomatoes work as a substitute.
5. Heat a pan and cook the guanciale over low heat.
6. Once the guanciale is cooked, push it to one side of the pan. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil on the other side, add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook.
7. Once the onion turns translucent, add the chopped parsley stems and the crumbled chili flakes, and mix well.
8. Add the tomato puree, cover, and simmer gently over low heat for about 5 minutes.
9. Uncover, add the bucatini, and let it simmer over low heat for 1 minute so the sauce soaks fully into the noodles.
10. Sprinkle in 0.5 tbsp grated pecorino, and if it looks too thick, loosen it with a little pasta water or olive oil.
11. Plate and finish with the reserved Italian parsley, pepper, and the remaining 0.5 tbsp grated pecorino.

https://hong-recipe.pages.dev/en/recipes/amatriciana-bucatini/