Bucatini all' Amatriciana

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 350g bucatini
• 150 g bacon, preferably guanciale or pancetta
• 500 g Roma tomatoes, skinned, pitted, diced
• 100 ml white wine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pepper, diced, without seeds
• 75 g Pecorino, freshly grated, preferably from the province of Lazio
• salt and pepper
• 1 onion(s), white, finely chopped, if desired
• 1 garlic clove(s), finely chopped, if desired

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Pasta with bacon, tomatoes and pecorino

Remove the tougher pieces of bacon and cut the rest into small, fine cubes. Fry in the oil with the diced peppers, not overheating. If the peppers are very hot—although you have to be brave enough to try them beforehand—remove them after 3 minutes. Non-hot peppers can be cooked with the meat. If you can’t do without the onion and garlic, add both from the beginning. Apparently, however, neither is called for in the original recipe. Now deglaze with the wine, add the chopped tomatoes, and sauté for 15 minutes, season with salt and, if desired, a little more pepper. Cook the bucatini in salted water according to the package instructions. Drain one minute before they are cooked through and let them simmer in the sauce with 2-3 tablespoons of the cooking water for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Finally, stir in the pecorino. Serve immediately as a primo piatto. The dish takes its name from the town of Amatrice in the province of Lazio, formerly part of the Abruzzo region. The bacon typical for this dish, the guanciale, also comes from there.