Bucatini All’Amatriciana
3
- Prep Time10 min
- Total Time40 min
- Makes6 Servings
Photo, Dana Gallagher.
This pasta was originally made with a white sauce, before tomatoes were introduced to Italy in the eighteenth century, but the key ingredients now are jowl bacon (called guanciale), olive oil, ripe plum tomatoes and pecorino cheese, cooked together in a lightweight cast-iron pan. This is my personal rendition, and deviates from the traditional version with the addition of sliced onions, for texture and sweetness, as well as some peperoncino and, to add complexity, bay leaves.
Ingredients
Kosher salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3 thick slices guanciale, cut into thin strips
1 small onion, sliced
¼ tsp peperoncino or red pepper flakes
1 28-oz can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
2 fresh bay leaves
1 pound bucatini
½ cup freshly grated Grana Padano or parmesan
½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the guanciale, and cook until it's almost crisp, about 3 min. Add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's wilted, about 6 mins Season with 1 tsp salt and the peperoncino.
Add the tomatoes and bay leaves. Fill the can with 2 cups pasta-cooking water and add that as well. Bring the liquid to a brisk simmer, and cook until the sauce is thick and flavourful, 15 to 20 min. Taste, and season it with salt if needed.
While the sauce is simmering, add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook the pasta until it's al dente. Transfer it with tongs to the simmering sauce. Add a drizzle of olive oil, and toss to coat the pasta with the sauce, adding a splash of pasta water if it seems dry. Remove the skillet from the heat, discard the bay leaves, sprinkle with the grated cheeses, toss and serve immediately.
Kitchen tip I am often asked what the difference is between bucatini and perciatelli, both tubular spaghetti with a hole running through them, resembling a straw. They're actually the same thing, just called by different names depending on where you are. "Buco" means "hole" (hence "bucatini"); "perciato" is a Neapolitan word meaning "pierced"(hence "perciatelli'). Regardless of the name, perciatelli/bucatini have a great mouthfeel. You often see Romans tuck napkins around their necks when eating this shape, to avoid staining their clothes while they suck it up.
This recipe is one of three delicious pasta recipes excerpted from Lidia Bastianich's The Art of Pasta.
Excerpted from Lidia’s The Art of Pasta by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2025 Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Photographs by Dana Gallagher. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Lidia Bastianich is an Emmy award-winning public television host, a best‐selling cookbook author, restaurateur and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business.
