Pasta Amatriciana

Italian Dish Blog -- Amatriciana

Ingredients

• 3 ounces pancetta, cubed
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon red hot chili pepper (or to taste - mine was very fresh and hot)
• 1/4 cup of dry white wine
• 1 cup tomato passata
• 1lb Pasta -- Fettucine/linguine work well
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese
• salt to taste

Preparation and Cooking

• In a large fry pan, cook the pancetta over medium heat for several minutes until crisp but not brown. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon and reserve, but leave the fat in the pan. Add the olive oil, onions and chili pepper and cook for several minutes until the onions are just soft but not browning.
• Add the white wine and cook for one minute. Add the tomatoes (I just use my hand to crush them) and the juice and reserved cooked pancetta and cook over medium low heat, uncovered, for 15 minutes. You want most of the liquid to cook off.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta until still a little firm. With tongs, remove the pasta from the boiling water and place right into the tomato mixture. Thoroughly coat the pasta with the tomato mixture. Turn off heat and add the cheese, tossing well. Taste for salt and add if needed. Serve immediately and pass extra Pecorino around. Be sure to serve a big red wine with this dish.