Pasta alla Amatriciana
A classic pasta dish from the town of Amatrice in Italy, with guanciale, tomatoes, Pecorino Romano, olive oil and a little chilli. A hearty, flavourful dish with few ingredients.
Method
Four steps · 30 minutesFry the guanciale
Fry the guanciale in the oil over medium heat until the fat has melted and the strips are golden. Add the chilli.
Make the sauce
Add the wine and let it cook away. Add the tomatoes and simmer gently for about 15 minutes.
Boil the pasta
Boil the pasta in salted water until a minute short of al dente. Save 1 dl of the pasta water and drain.
Bring it together
Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce with a splash of pasta water. Remove from the heat, stir in most of the pecorino and top with the rest.
Our tips
Pancetta works if you cannot find guanciale, but guanciale gives the fuller flavour.
Taste before you salt the sauce. Both guanciale and pecorino are salty.
Lift out half of the crisp guanciale before adding the tomatoes, and put it back at the end for more crunch.
Save more pasta water than you think you need. Its starch is what makes the sauce cling to the pasta.
A lighter version
Fewer calories, same dishUse 75 g of guanciale instead of 150 g.
Skip the olive oil, since the guanciale gives off enough fat.
Use 30 g of pecorino instead of 60 g.
Use 320 g of pasta instead of 400 g, and serve with a large salad.
With all the swaps, about 460 kcal per portion instead of about 710 kcal (estimate). The dish gets a little less rich.
- Energy
- about 710 kcal
- Protein
- about 20 g
- Fat
- about 35 g
- Carbohydrates
- about 76 g
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