Bucatini All'Amatriciana

Inspiration:
When in Italy, one of my favorite pasta dishes is bucatini all'amatriciana. If you're ever in Rome, head over to La Matriciana near the Vatican for a fantastic meal.

Bucatini is a hollow spaghetti, and for some reason the hole in the middle makes it taste a lot better. :) I had difficulty finding bucatini in the United States, but when I saw it at Trader Joe's, I picked up a few packages for 99 cents each. w00t!

The amatriciana sauce recipe is from Emeril. The tomatoes and onions were from our CSA.


Ingredients:

• 5 ounces raw pancetta, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced onions
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 pound canned chopped tomatoes
  
• 1 pound fresh bucatini, cooked until tender
• 2 tablespoons chiffonade basil
• 4 ounces freshly grated pecorino
• red pepper flakes, for garnish
  

Ingredients:

1. In large saute pan, over medium heat, cook pancetta until crisp, about 6 minutes. Remove to paper towel lined plate.

2. Add olive oil to saute pan and heat over medium heat. Add onions to saute pan. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until wilted, about 4 minutes.

3. Add the wine and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and reserved pancetta back to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 15 minutes.

4. In a large mixing bowl, toss the pasta with the tomato sauce, basil, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

Notes:
Pancetta is delicious. That's all.
I used two large tomatoes, chopped, in place of the canned tomatoes.


Tim's Rating: 8.5/10
Liz's Rating: 9/10