Amatrichana

One of the favorite dishes of Italians is pasta. Its taste depends largely on the sauce with which it is prepared. Each region of Italy is proud of its variants of this dish. In Lazio (region of the province of Rieti), this is amatriche (or amatricciana) sauce. The dish is named after the city of Amatrice, whose inhabitants were the first to invent pasta with pork cheek sauce and hard pecorino sheep cheese. There is no single recipe for this liquid seasoning; local housewives prepare it not only from the cheek, but also from the bacon, and from bacon, with onions or garlic, with tomatoes or wine, replacing pecorino with any other hard cheese. Cooking pasta with amatriche, the culinary specialist can show imagination and make a truly unique dish.

Cooking Features

In order to try the pasta with sauce Amatriche, there is no need to go to Italy. This dish is easy to cook at home. All that is needed for this is a little skill and patience: the process is simple, but time consuming. To get the best result you need to know a few things:

Traditional recipes of amatricha involve the use of pork cheek meat - a fat piece of meat from the front of the pork carcass. It can be replaced by bacon or brisket - it will affect the taste of the finished sauce, but only slightly. Usually use uncooked pork, but there are options for the preparation of smoked sauce.
Amatricena is most often made from tomato pulp to make the sauce thick and slightly sour, but it is allowed to replace it with white or red dry wine. The choice depends on the recipe.
Tomatoes are cleaned of skin and seeds before use. This allows you to get a sauce that has a smooth texture.
If you follow the traditional technology, the sauce of amatriche must be cooked over very low heat for at least two hours. If you are in a hurry, you can cut this time in half, but then the sauce will be less thick and smooth.
Pork is not cut too small - usually in thin strips. Then even after a long heat treatment, the meat pieces will be felt in the taste of the finished sauce.
Cheese is considered an integral ingredient of amatricane sauce, but it is not added to the seasoning at the cooking stage. Served with grated cheese sprinkled with pasta, mixed with sauce, when it is served at the table.

Amatricha sauce is considered ideal for long pasta having a flat shape, but it can be used in cooking spaghetti and other types of pasta. The finished pasta is added to the hot sauce, then the dish is mixed, sprinkled with cheese and served to the table.

Amatrichana with pork cheek and pecorino cheese

Composition:

pork jowl - 120 g;
fresh tomatoes - 0, 4 kg;
onions - 100 g;
garlic - 4 cloves;
dried pepper to taste;
olive oil - 40 ml;
pecorino - 60-70 g;
salt - to taste.

Method of preparation:

Pork cut into thin strips.
Peel and chop the onion.
Cut the garlic cloves into several pieces.
Slice the tomatoes crosswise, dip into boiling water, blanch for 2-3 minutes. Catch the vegetables with a slotted spoon, lower it into a container filled with cold water. When the fruits have cooled, remove them from the skins.
Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the juicy flesh with seeds from them. Chop the remaining flesh finely.
Chop grated cheese.
Pour oil into the saucepan, heat it. Put the pork sticks and garlic in it. You can add pieces of dried pepper.
Fry foods for 5 minutes. Remove the garlic and pepper.
Add onions to pork, fry them together for 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes. Simmer them on low heat for 40 minutes.
Add salt and seasoning. Extinguish another 10-15 minutes.
Put the cooked pasta into the sauce. A sauce made from the specified amount of ingredients in the recipe is enough for 4 servings of pasta.
Stir, simmer for a few minutes, sprinkle with cheese.

It remains to remove the dish from the heat, stir, arrange into plates and serve.

Amatrichana from canned tomatoes

Composition:

bacon - 0, 2 kg;
tomatoes in own juice - 0, 5 l;
onions - 100 g;
garlic - 4 cloves;
fresh basil - 4 sprigs;
sea salt, black ground pepper - to taste;
Parmesan cheese or similar - for serving.

Method of preparation:

Cut the bacon into bars.
Crush the garlic cloves with a flat side, finely chop.
From the branches of basil, tear off the leaves, wash them and dry.
Remove the tomatoes from the jar, if necessary, peel, chop with a blender and mix with the juice in which they were conserved.
Free from the peel, cut the onion into small cubes.
Put the bacon in the pan, fry it. Take out the greaves.
Fry onion and garlic on the fat that was melted from the bacon.
Return the bacon to the pan, fill it with tomato puree.
Simmer over low heat for an hour.
Add garlic and basil, pepper and salt the seasoning to taste. Continue to simmer another 10-15 minutes.
Put boiled macaroni into the sauce (per 4 servings), mix.