I know that calling this pasta Non-traditional “amatriciana” sounds like blasphemy, but this spaghetti with guanciale, tomato sauce, nduja, and stracciatella reminds me of the classic Roman dish. It’s a more decadent version born from a craving for an Amatriciana and the necessity to recycle some leftover ingredients I had in the fridge.
Ingredients to make non-traditional Amatriciana:
Thick spaghetti:
My favorite shape of pasta so far! It’s the best choice when you cook pasta “risotto style,” which means cooking the spaghetti into the sauce to obtain an extra rich and creamy pasta dish.
We constantly stir the spaghetti in the pan while adding starchy water, and using a thinner spaghetti; we incur the risk of breaking them, resulting in a mess.
Guanciale:
It’s cured pork jowl and the main ingredient of many Roman pasta dishes like Carbonara, Amatriciana, and Gricia.
It’s not that easy to find in the Us(especially a good one), that one I’m using today was donated to me from a farm in Upstate NY, but if you can’t find it, you can substitute it with a strip of thick cut bacon.
Tomato:
Always whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes,no pure or tomato paste. I like to crush my tomato by hand (to keep a nice red color) and cook slowly it with the rest of the ingredients.
Nduja:
Nduja is a soft, spreadable fermented pork salume, spiked with fiery Calabrian chilies. Add an extra kick to the sauce I get min here.
Stracciatella:
It’s a creamy cheese originally from Puglia, southern Italy, and has a rich, milky and buttery flavor that pairs wonderfully with sauce.
How to make non-traditional Amatriciana:
1)
Fill a 4qt pot with water and bring it to a boil.
2)
Then, pour 1 tsp of olive oil into a skillet, slice the guanciale into strips and add it to the pan. Cook at low heat until the guanciale is crispy.
3)
Discard the fat from the guanciale and add the crushed San Marzano tomato. Cook for 15 minutes at low heat until the sauce is thick enough to cover the back of a spoon.
4)
When the water is boiling, add 1 tbsp of kosher salt and 120gr of spaghetti.
After 3 minutes, drain the spaghetti a throw it into the pan with the sauce.
5)
Finish by cooking the pasta into the sauce, adding starchy water, and stirring constantly.
When your pasta is ready, turn off the stove and add 1 tbsp of stracciatella cheese.
Plate immediately and add one more tbsp of stracciatella on top.
Ingredients
- 120 g thick spaghetti
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 60 g guanciale
- 30 g nduja
- 250 g whole peeled San Marzano
- 2 tbsp stracciatella
- 1 tbsp kosher salt for the water
- 1 tsp kosher salt for the sauce
Instructions
- Fill a pot with 4 qt of water and bring it to a boil.
- Then, pour 1 tsp of olive oil into a skillet, slice the guanciale into strips and add it to the pan. Cook at low heat until the guanciale is crispy
- Discard the fat from the guanciale and add 250g of crushed San Marzano tomato. Cook for 15 minutes at low heat until the sauce is thick enough to cover the back of a spoon.
- Next, add 30 g of nduja and let it melt into the sauce.
- When the water is boiling, add 1 tbsp of kosher salt and 120gr of spaghetti.
- After 3 minutes, drain the spaghetti a throw it into the pan with the sauce. Finish by cooking the pasta into the sauce, adding starchy water and stirring constantly.
- When your pasta is ready, turn off the stove add 1 tbsp of starcciatella cheese.
- Plate immediately and add one more tbsp of stracciatella on top. Buon appetito!
If you’re a pasta lover like me, you might be interested in:
Pasta all’arrabbiata:Italian spicy tomato sauce
Orecchiette with broccoli rabe & sausage
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