Rigatoni all'Amatriciana

Pasta all’Amatriciana is my personal favourite of the classic Roman pasta dishes. As much as I love a carbonara, I can’t resist a rich tomato sauce.

I’m not bringing you the most authentic recipe in the world, but it is absolutely delicious.

I’m a garlic girl with the spice tolerance of a small child, so I go heavy on the garlic and light on the spice. I also prefer rigatoni over spaghetti or bucatini, as the shells hold onto that sauce so well.

Ingredients for 2 servings:

  • 160g dried rigatoni, or your pasta shape of choice
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tin of whole cherry tomatoes (Using whole tomatoes instead of chopped gives you great texture, but chopped works if you have those)
  • 1/2 of a small white onion, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 50g of guanciale, thinly sliced and cut into lardons (pancetta, or unsmoked bacon work too)
  • 30g parmesan or pecorino, grated
  • A pinch of chilli flakes, or more if you like more spice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Equipment:

  • A large pot and a frying pan/skillet with a lid.

Method:

  • Fill your pot with water. Salt the water well, and start bringing this to a boil.
  • In your frying pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onion and guanciale, and fry for 2-3 minutes until the guanciale starts to turn golden and the onion softens slightly. Add the garlic and fry for another minute.
  • Make a little well in the pan to add in the tomato paste. Fry for a minute or two, until the colour darkens, then mix everything together.
  • Add in the tinned tomatoes, chilli flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low, and cover the pan to simmer.
  • Once your water is boiling, add in the rigatoni and cook for 2 minutes less than the package suggests.
  • Whilst the pasta cooks, check on the sauce every so often and start crushing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon as they soften up. You’ll soon have a chunky sauce.
  • Reserve a little of the pasta water, and drain your pasta. Mix the pasta and sauce together and stir over a low heat for a few minutes until well combined (If your frying pan isn’t very deep, you may want to do this in your larger pot!).
  • Grate half of your parmesan over the pasta and melt this into the sauce. You can add some of the reserved pasta water here if things need loosening up a little.
  • Serve up the pasta, grate over the remaining parmesan, and a little black pepper if you like, and enjoy!

I like to have mine with a little rocket on the side, as it’s peppery flavour works really well with this dish!