Bucatini Allamatriciana Recipes

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:

• 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 ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and salt the water.
• Heat a large deep over medium high heat. Add oil and pancetta. Cook pancetta 2 or 3 minutes then add onions and garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook 7 or 8 minutes more, until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and parsley. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Simmer sauce over low heat until ready to serve.
• Cook bucatini pasta to al dente or, with a bite to it. Drain pasta well. Do not rinse. Starchy pasta holds more sauce. Toss hot pasta with sauce and serve. Pass grated cheese at the table.

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA WITH SPICY SMOKED MOZZARELLA MEATBALLS

Steps:

• For the sauce: In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and reserve. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and the cooked pancetta. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• For the meatballs: Position an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the onion, 1/2 cup parsley, 2/3 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the beef and veal. Using your hands, combine all ingredients gently but thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 16 (1 1/2-inch-diameter) meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make a hole in the center of each meatball and place a cube of mozzarella inside. Reform the meatball so that the mozzarella is completely covered with the meat mixture. Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes until cooked through.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Add the meatballs and sauce. Toss gently and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and Parmesan.

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 oil in a 12-inch skillet. Add onion and garlic, and sauté over medium heat until transparent. Add guanciale and sauté until barely beginning to brown.
• Break up tomatoes and add. Cook about 15 minutes, crushing tomatoes with a spoon, until sauce has become somewhat concentrated and homogenized. Season with chili and salt and stir in 1 tablespoon cheese. Remove from heat.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add bucatini and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and transfer to skillet. Gently reheat contents of skillet, folding pasta and tomato sauce together until they are heated through and pasta is well-coated, about 5 minutes. Fold in remaining cheese. Check seasoning and serve with more cheese on the side.