When in Rome

When in Rome you should eat their most famous pastas. The four classic Roman pastas are Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, Gricia, and Amatriciana. We had all four on different nights, not all at the same time and my son loved the Amatriciana. I can’t believe that I had never cooked it for him because it was my favourite pasta since the ’80s. My friend, who was chef at a very popular Italan restaurant in Toronto in the ’80s, gave me his recipe and it is still the best version I have ever had. His secret was red wine vinegar and it really elevates the sauce. The combination of tart vinegar, sweet onions, smoky bacon, and chili flakes works to makes this crazy good. Now, of course, you should be using guanciale, which is cured pork jowl, but I can’t find any locally. You could substitute pancetta, but I like the flavour of double-smoked bacon. I like to cut my tomato into strips, but that gets messy on the board so I will just break up the tomatoes with my fingers before adding to the pan. I would not puree or use crushed tomato because it should be rustic and not smooth. Tonight we are having it for the third time since returning from Italy, it’s that delicious.

Pasta all’Amatriciana

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 ounces double-smoked bacon ,cut into small strips

1 onion sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1-2 teaspoons dried chili flakes, more or less to taste

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 can (28oz) good whole plum tomatoes, sliced into strips

1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese plus more for serving

1 lb. bucatini or spaghetti

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until starting to crisp and add onions. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook onions, stirring often until soft and then add the garlic and chili flakes. Cook, stirring frequently until garlic is fragrant, about a minute or two and then stir in the vinegar. Reduce the vinegar until almost dry and then add tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper again and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes until sauce thickens. Meanwhile cook the noodles in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving some of the pasta water, add cheese and noodles to sauce. Toss pasta with sauce over low heat for a minute or two until pasta is nicely coated with sauce, add some pasta water if needed to thin sauce. Serve with more pecorino on top.