Bucatini Amatriciana With Ricotta Salata

"Made this for dinner twice so far, and the second time it tasted even better. Cheesey and smokey works so well together in a rich tomato sauce:D Regina Schrambling says "starch is comfort" and "cheese is seduction" and when they're combined the result is pure pleasure. BF and I have to agree wholeheartedly. I can usually only find crushed tomatoes in puree, and that worked out very well so I added that as an option. I am vegetarian so I substituted vegetarian bacon for pancetta. Another recipe of the week from The Week magazine, originally from LA Times."
 
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photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Kumquat the Cats fr photo by Kumquat the Cats fr
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
9
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • If using, cut pancetta into i/4 inch dice. Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add pancetta and cook, stirring, until it crisps and renders its fat, about 10 minutes. Remove pancetta and set aside. Break into small pieces when cooled. Remove all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan and discard.
  • Add oil and onion and cook, stirring often, until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes.
  • Add red pepper flakes then add tomatoes and crush against the pan if using whole. Cook, stir and crush tomatoes into small bits, for 5 minutes.
  • Simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • While sauce cooks, bring large pot of water to a rolling boil with salt (about 1 Tbsp for every 2 quarts - it should be salty). Fifteen minutes before sauce is done, add pasta to water. Stir and then cook until al dente, 11-12 minutes or according to package directions.
  • Reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water, drain pasta in colander. Add butter and toss quickly, then transfer to pan with sauce. Stir until strands are thinly but evenly coated. Add a little cooking liquid if pasta seems dry. Add half Ricotta Salata and stir to combine well.
  • Transfer pasta to large bowl or platter and sprinkle with pancetta and remaining cheese. Serve hot.
  • For Vegetarian omit the pancetta or use vegetarian bacon.

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Reviews

  1. Amazing pasta! The pancetta on top with the ricotta was so good. Loved how simple it is but it's loaded with flavor!
     
  2. This was so simple yet had such delicious flavours. I made my own ricotta and used streaky bacon instead of pancetta. There is something about pasta, tomatoes & quality cheese that is just beautiful. Thank youfor posting this, I was tempted to add garlic or herbs but didn't, I don't think it would be so bad if you did though, so long as you were judicious! Thanks for posting.
     
  3. We really enjoyed this pasta dish. I used ground plum tomates and add vegetable broth instead of the pasta water to thin it out. I too used feta since I was unable to find the cheese, it turned out great. The sauce has a nice kick to it. Thank you
     
  4. This was delicious! I used a hard wood smoked bacon and a sweet onion. I couldn't find any ricotta salata unfortunately, so I used feta. WE all loved it including the kids!! :) THanks for the great recipe!
     
  5. This was delicious. I think I may have added a bit too much pepper flakes as I am freezing most as planned overs and pepper gets hotter with age, but it was delicious as written.
     
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Tweaks

  1. This was so simple yet had such delicious flavours. I made my own ricotta and used streaky bacon instead of pancetta. There is something about pasta, tomatoes & quality cheese that is just beautiful. Thank youfor posting this, I was tempted to add garlic or herbs but didn't, I don't think it would be so bad if you did though, so long as you were judicious! Thanks for posting.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Clockwise from upper left, my dear friends Cranberry, Quincy, Kumquat and Kiwi. All of our cats were born in the wild and adopted by us. Zaar Chefs I have met so far: Elmotoo, justcallmeToni, ~Rita~, Midwest Maven, Bird&amp;Buddha (both of them) and most recently, Ms*Bindy from upstate New York:) Wonderful, sweet, friendly people and great chefs! Most relevant thing to mention here is that I am a vegetarian, and recently became a&nbsp;vegan&nbsp;(almost 100%). To put vegetables and other things not meat or fish on the table I work as an actuary (in my case anyway, a combination of statistician, number-cruncher and/or programmer). For fun I like to travel. Just came back from&nbsp;Namibia, a peaceful democracy in Africa with lots of animals! Got some terrific pictures of lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinocerous, hyenas, all kinds of antelopes, giraffes and zebras. Namibia is the second most sparsely populated country per square mile, just behind Mongolia. Update:&nbsp; We went to Italy this Spring.&nbsp; We had lots of pizza and pasta.&nbsp; The pizza is so much better in Italy, particularly the crust.&nbsp; The Amalfi coast was absolutely beautiful.&nbsp; Spectacular natural scenery (Canada and Alaska are really beautiful, Patagonia in Chile is sublime, Iceland is unique) has been my latest passion as far as travel destinations but I have seen quite a few big cities too (Paris, Berlin, London and Madrid to name a few). On my bulletin board at work I keep a list of every country I've visited (other than the U.S. of course). So far I've made it to five continents: Europe, Africa, South America, Asia and North America of course. I've got only two other continents to conquer:) I don't usually have difficulty finding vegetarian dishes here in the U.S. or overseas, but finding vegan dishes is much harder. I have no kids, just cats, Kumquat, Cranberry, and more recently Quincy and Kiwi. They are purebreds, of the breed alley caticus (okay, American shorthair I guess). Our cats are not vegetarians, though my boyfriend (significant other, long-term partner, whatever) is. I am a friend of all animals both tamed and wild. In addition I am a freethinker and my boyfriend studies philosophy. Either way, we get along pretty well.&nbsp; Also, please allow me to say that my BF and I recently bought a condominium in NYC.:)&nbsp; Pet peeve? Okay, I don't like public scenes, especially parents yelling at their children, lovers' spats, etc. If it must be done please do it in private:D Participation &amp; Awards:</p>
 
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