When John and Lisa Joy went to Rome on their honeymoon in 2005, they ate pasta with this delicious sauce. Around that same time, I bought a new cookbook called The Concise Gastronomy of Italy, by Anna Del Conte. I played around with Ms. Del Conte's recipe, combining it with what Lisa remembered about the dish from their trip. Here, then, is my version of Amatriciana.
Enough for 4-6 servings of pasta
2 - 3 cups tomato puree
12 oz unsmoked pancetta, cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, very finely chopped
salt
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 dried chili, finely chopped, or dried red pepper flakes to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
freshly ground black pepper
Saute the unsmoked pancetta cubes in olive oil until the fat has run out and the meat is crisp and brown. Stir frequently.
Add the onion and a pinch of salt to the skillet and saute for about 10 minutes. Mix in the garlic and chili pepper. Cook for an additional minute, then add the wine. Turn up the heat and let the wine bubble away to reduce it by half.
Pour in the tomato puree and simmer for 15 minutes so the flavors blend.
Season with freshly ground pepper, adjusting salt and chili pepper, if desired.
Serve over spaghetti or other pasta.
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3 comments:
John and I have found that the key (at least to get it as close as possible to what we had in our favorite Roman restaurant) is, instead of using tomato puree, to use canned whole tomatoes (juice included), and as they cook to smash them with a fork. To us, this makes all the difference. We're still playing around with our recipe, though. It's our all-time favorite dish!
Thanks, Lisa. I'll try that!
We've now gone officially international! Woo Hoo!
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