Bucatini alla’Amatriciana

Bucatini alla’Amatriciana
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
Kosher salt
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano-style tomatoes are best, look for D.O.P. label)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (4 to 6-ounce) slab of guanciale or pancetta (or bacon), cut into 1/4 by 1/4 by 3/4-inch thick pieces (or
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, for a vegetarian version)
1 small yellow onion, peeled and halved
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound bucatini (penne, rigatoni, or spaghetti also work)
1 to 1 1/2 cups (about 2 to 3 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, divided 

Steps:
1. Fill a large pasta pot two-thirds with water, cover, and bring to a boil. Add enough salt so that the water tastes salty like the ocean. Keep warm until ready to cook pasta.

2. Transfer the tomatoes and their juices to a large bowl. Remove any basil leaves from the tomatoes and discard them. Mash up the whole tomatoes with your hands. (Alternatively you can buzz them in a food processor to just break them up.) Set aside.

3. In your largest, widest sauté pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium (you do not need oil if using bacon or butter). Add the guanciale, pancetta or bacon and cook until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden and just starting to crisp, about 5 minutes. You should have about 4 tablespoons fat in the pan. If there is more, drain some out. (If using butter, skip this first step. Just place butter in pan and let melt, then…) 

4. Add the onion, cut-side down, and cook for 1 minute, then add the red pepper flakes, and toast for 30 seconds. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and their juices, plus 1/4 cup water. Season with a big pinch or two of salt and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 25 minutes. (If it thickens too much, add 1/4 cup or more of pasta cooking water to loosen.) Remove the onion halves and season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Ten minutes before serving dinner, add the pasta to the boiling salted water, and boil, stirring occasionally, until tender but with a good bite to it, about 2 minutes less than the package instructs for al dente. Just before draining the pasta, reserve at least 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain pasta through a colander or pull pasta out of the water using a pasta fork.

6. Transfer the pasta directly to the sauce and toss it rapidly with two spoons or tongs to combine. Add a little pasta cooking water, 2 tablespoons at a time, tossing it well into the pasta, to loosen the sauce and help meld the sauce into the pasta.

7. Off the heat, stir in 1/2 to 1 cup of the grated cheese. Serve immediately with the remaining grated cheese at the table. Recipe by Jill Santopietro.