This recipe is a twist on a popular (and incredibly easy) spicy Italian pasta. All’Amatriciana is typically made using chili flakes, but here I had a jar of Calabrian peppers in my pantry and thought … hmmmmmm… why not! I love love love spicy foods, so when I saw an opportunity to make this dish using whole chilies, I couldn’t resist.
Here, I blend the chilies in a food processor with garlic and some oil until smooth. Nobody likes getting seeds and chunks of chili skin stuck in their teeth so this part is important. The amount of chili you should use will be a direct correlation to your heat preference. I have a very high tolerance for spicy foods, so I may have gone a little nuts (I used 18 peppers lol), which actually was perfect for me. If you’ve never tried Calabrian Chili before, I would recommend you start low and build up. In this recipe, it is a big component of the sauce so you will definitely taste it. Here, I listed 10 peppers in the recipe, which should be enough to give you the expected “kick” of amatriciana sauce, but adjust to your own preference. You can substitute some peppers for chili flakes also.
As for the meat, you can use guanciale, pancetta or bacon. I used uncured bacon – a whole pound of it (this recipe serves 4-6 so technically that’s not a lot of bacon per …. riiiight?) Cut the bacon up in bite size pieces of your choosing; start in a cold pan and let it slowly cook to render out the fat until it’s done to your liking; set aside, but reserve some of the bacon fat. Then move that bowl of bacon out of reach. If you’re like me, you’ll be picking at the bacon pieces while you cook until there’s only a pathetic amount left…. sigh.
About the Ingredients
Calabrian chili
Calabrian chili is actually Peperoncinos that you likely have had in deli sandwiches or or on pizza or in a house-salad in various Italian restaurants. (Trivia, “peperoncino” is the generic Italian term for hot chili peppers). Thus Calabrian chilies are basically ripe peperoncinos that have been jarred in some oil and salt. The flavor is a little salty, a little smoky, and the level of spice will vary from pepper to pepper / batch to batch like any other produce. Overall, I would say they have a decent amount of heat so if you have a mild-palate, you’ll want to use sparingly.
You can find Calabrian Chili in most specialty grocery stores (I have a small Italian grocer nearby), or try Whole Foods or any similar venue that sells specialty products. If all else fails, there’s always Amazon!
Bucatini All'Amatriciana
Ingredients
- 1 can whole tomatoes, 28 oz
- 10 whole calabrian chili peppers, stems removed
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 lb bacon, or pancetta or guanciale
- 1/2 lb bucatini pasta, or pasta of your choice
How I Make It
- Chop the bacon into bite size pieces (how big is up to you). Start with a cold pan and slowly cook the bacon until the fat has rendered and it is done to your liking. Drain and set aside, reserving a couple of tablespoons of the bacon fat.
- Crush the whole tomatoes by hand or use a hand blender. You can use pre-crushed tomatoes or tomato puree, but whole tomatoes are higher quality.
- Puree chilies, garlic, olive oil, and a little bit of the tomato sauce until smooth and there are no more large chunks of chili skins. Set aside.
- Cook your pasta (slightly under al dente) according to the packet instructions. I try to time this so that it is ready the same time as my sauce.
- On medium heat, add some bacon fat to the pan and cook the chili puree mixture for a minute or two. Add the crushed tomatoes and continue to cook the sauce, on medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes. You can let this simmer happily along until your pasta is done cooking.
- When the pasta is done, scoop and add it directly into the sauce. The pasta will continue to cook (and finish in the sauce) hence why it is important to undercook it initially. Add the bacon back in. Mix everything through on medium heat.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning (salt) if necessary. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I do not add any salt to this recipe because the Calabrian chilies and the bacon already bring a lot of salt to this dish. I recommend you do the same and add salt at the very end (if you still need it) after the whole sauce comes together.
