Amatriciana on the Fly

I really like this recipe using a can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes. It plays nicely with the smokiness of the bacon! I like to cook the bacon on its own first and then take it out shortly before it starts to crisp. That way I can cook the onions longer so they soften up very well and the bacon doesn't overcook.

Very tasty but next time I would add a pinch of chili flakes to give it a bit of heat.

Italian pasta dates to the ancient Etruscans, who lived throughout the Umbrian region of Amatrice, and was enjoyed by Romans. The story of Marco Polo bringing pasta from China is false; nor did it come from the Mongols, who never made it to Italy. Garlic is never used in this dish as Italians generally don’t mix onions and garlic. Less is more.

So good. Bacon, onion, a can of Trader Joe’s fire roasted tomatoes, and a splash of pasta water later (plus some capellini) made for an extremely easy dish that my husband seemed “something you’d eat in a restaurant.” Win!

Doubled the bacon, but it was probably a tad too much. Could have gone with a bit less onion or more finely chopped. But very easy and tasty with some pantry staples.

I live in a god-forsaken area of West Virginia where even prosciutto isn’t available. For the twenty years before this I lived in LA, Miami, and New York. Count your luck stars that you have options. I’ll take the bacon for now. Only thing I can get that I’d use instead is nduja, which I don’t have right now. At least it’s stable until it gets to my home. Be grateful for the luxuries you have!

For one pound of pasta I used four pieces of bacon, 1 large onion, and one 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes broken up a bit. Added 4 cloves of garlic near end of onion cooking time and cooked for about 1 minute. Seasoned sauce with about 1.5 tsp salt, pepper, and 1/2 tablespoon sugar.

Here in Rome we would never put garlic, butter, parsley or hot pepper flakes in this dish. In response to other comments, dried pasta has no eggs and certainly no olive oil--just semolina flour and water; contrary to having "no taste," it is the protagonist of the dish. And no, Italians did not get pasta from Asia, that's a canard proven wrong by food historians.

IMO Guanciale is so much better than bacon or pancetta -- better fatty fat and super yumza. Such a delicious, simple, and perfect however you want to make it.

a glug or two of olive oil and bacon fat over high heat caused an almighty painful oil splash when i threw the onion in... skip the oil!!

When I was a 5yo in Cape Town 65 years ago, we lived next door to an Italian family. From the mama, my mom learned to make spaghetti, which she continued to serve to our growing family once a week thereafter - long after leaving C Town and that family. For years, it was the only pasta dish we knew (other than mac & cheese), and when I started cooking, it was mine too (with variations). It wasn't until decades later that I realised my mom's regular pasta had a name - Amatriciana.

Omg... Amatriciana is already fast. You can eat this thing or a real amatriciana with a tiny little effort. Skip the onions or one of us will die. Call it the way you want, but let's keep amatriciana for the real deal. Ciao

Huge hit with whole family. Used bacon (sorry) and shallots and threw a can of those Bianco tomatoes in the pan which were smashed up with a wooden spoon. I never have pecorino, not sure why, so I topped with that 24 month Parmesan you can find at BJ’s (basically the only thing I buy there). This dish is now happily Part of the Rotation

On the fly? this is the only way to make a matriciana, except that guanciale is the preferred meat. Add salt after you add the tomatoes and cook them down till they taste right, not just out of the can; Italians say the tomatoes must make the little eye, ie cook till there are tiny bubbling craters on the surface. All easily done in the time it takes to fill a big pot, bring it to a boil, and cook the pasta. Lots of black pepper. Two more words: never garlic.