Spaghetti all'amitriciana

 

Speaking of no brainers, compiling the list for my last post reminded me of one I haven’t talked about before – spaghetti all’amitriciana. It has five ingredients, it’s ready in the time it takes to cook the pasta, and it includes bacon. Win-win-win.

Spaghetti all’amitriciana

1. Put on a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
2. Chop 8 rashers of bacon and put in skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until browned and crispy, stirring frequently.
3. Chop 1 medium red onion and add to the skillet. Continue to stir the mixture frequently as the onion softens and browns.
4. Add 1 jar (700 ml/28 oz) or equivalent of tomato passata to skillet and stir to combine with bacon and onion
5. Once the water is boiling, salt generously and add 500 g/1 lb spaghetti or bucatini. Stir pasta and allow to return to a boil.
6. While pasta is cooking, grate a good-sized heap of pecorino romano cheese (~120 g/4 oz/1 cup) into a bowl; also keep an eye on the sauce, stirring from time to time.
7. Cook pasta 8-10 minutes until al dente. Drain, reserving about 120 ml/4 oz/.5 cup cooking water.
8. Return pasta to hot pasta pot, then add sauce. (Most recipes suggest adding the pasta to the skillet, but I can’t do it that way without making a huge mess. Using the big pasta pot works much better for me.)
9. Toss pasta and sauce to combine, adding generous amounts of grated cheese as you go. Add pasta water as necessary to help bring everything together.
10. Taste and add salt and freshly ground black pepper if desired.
11. Serve immediately, topped with more grated cheese.