Pasta Amatriciana – Spaghetti in Pancetta and Tomato Sauce

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Cooked pasta

1. 1
   Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water (4¼ cups of water and a heaping teaspoon of salt for every 4 oz of pasta), following the package directions (taste about 2 minutes early), until al dente.

   ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePot

   💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
2. 2
   Reserve cup of the cooking water before draining.

   ⚙ Saving the cooking waterLadleorMeasuring cup

   💡The cooking water is starchy: a spoonful or two binds the sauce to the pasta or the gnocchi and makes it glossy.
3. 3
   Drain.

   Colander

To assemble

1. 4
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat' and fry the pancetta, stirring, until the fat renders and the meat is crisp. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside'.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
2. 5
   Add the onion and fry' 5 minutes', until it softens.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 6
   Add the wine and cook 1 minute, until about half has evaporated.

   Stove
4. 7
   'Add the tomatoes, chili pepper and black pepper and bring to a boil. 'Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce thickens.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 8
   Return the pancetta to the sauce, add the drained pasta and a little of the cooking water and toss well.

   Stove

   💡Return the crisp meat only with the pasta: that way it stays crisp instead of softening in the simmering sauce.
6. 9
   Serve with the cheese on top.