Amatriciana Pasta Sauce

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

I went on a bit of a food book splurge the other day in Eason’s, picking up a paperback copy of Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Italy, a lovely River Cottage Every Day book and a Greek cookbook (Ben?? Are you living in my mind?!?). I’m feeling back on the cooking bus and hope to try lots of new recipes over the coming weeks.

I also grabbed a copy of the April/May issue of the Jamie Oliver Magazine. I’ve bought five issues altogether, and I’ve used at least three recipes out of each one, which isn’t bad for €5.95. I mean, I know recipes are free on-line but it’s nice to have something to leaf through at a lazy moment, especially as I don’t go in for the usual ladies’ magazines.

Lovely smoked garlic and bucatini pasta from Fallon & Byrne

The latest issue is an Italian Special, which is very exciting indeed. It’s got loads of stunning looking recipes for risottos, seafood dishes, puddings and countless ideas for Pasta Sauces.

The below recipe for Amatriciana Sauce caught my eye and I whipped it up for a quick and delicious mid-week meal. It was bleedin’ gorgeous, as they say in the little known Italian region of Rialto.

What you need for Jamie Oliver’s Amatriciana Sauce for 2*

*The recipe in the magazine said it served 4. Now, I know myself and Niall have quite large appetites but we’re not that gluttonous. I believe these measurements are better suited to 2.

1 large onion, finely chopped

150g pancetta, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (I used some lovely smoked garlic from Fallon & Byrne)

100ml White Wine

10 fresh tomatoes, peeled, dessed and chopped OR 1 x 400g of Tinned Tomatoes

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes or 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

Bucatini pasta (spaghetti or linguini is totally fine if you can’t find Bucatini)

Grated Pecorino or Parmesan, to serve

Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the diced onion and fry for 3 minutes. Then add the garlic and pancetta, fry for a further 5 minutes.

Next, add your white wine. Cook until all the wine has evaporated – about 5/10 minutes (this part took me longer as I used too much wine!). Don’t be tempted to move on too quickly from this stage – be sure that the wine has completely evaporated, stirring constantly. The onions will be translucent and almost creamy looking at this stage.

Once the wine has completely evaporated, add your tomatoes and chilli. Season generously with sea salt. Simmer over a low heat for about 30 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.

The bucatini pasta (which I found in Fallon & Byrne) takes around 13 minutes to cook. Once your sauce is beginning to thicken, cook your pasta according to packet instructions.

Serve it all together with some grated cheese on top. Delicious!