Matriciana or Amatriciana is one of my fav pasta sauces, quick, simple and good. The name comes from a small town in the highlands north of Rome, in the Italian hillbilly country.
This is the original recipe, most traditional and almost philological, promoted by the Amatrice Tourism Board.
1 oz pork jowl (bacon is OK if you cannot find the real stuff)
4 large peeled tomatoes or 1 can peeled tomatoes
some chili (not much)
Olive oil, white wine (optional), salt
4 oz pasta (spaghetti, rigatoni, penne, almost everything is OK)
Romano cheese or Parmesan
Serves 4
Dice the jowl or bacon and brown it in olive oil with the chili, but be careful because the jowl must stay soft, shouldn't be crispy, and the sauce should not be too spicy and hot. Add some white wine (optional) and when it dries up add the tomatoes and some salt Let reduce and add some more salt if needed. Cook the pasta, drain it well, add the sauce and a liberal amount of grated cheese (traditionally Romano, but mixture of Romano and Parmesan is accepted, or even just Parmesan), mix well and serve.
A heated debate has gone on for ages, whether onions and (shudder) garlic are acceptable in the Matriciana. The classical recipe, as you see, has only the terse ingredients listed above, and purists consider any other seasoning an abomination. If you add something else the result can be good, but what you get is not Matriciana!
This is the original recipe, most traditional and almost philological, promoted by the Amatrice Tourism Board.
1 oz pork jowl (bacon is OK if you cannot find the real stuff)
4 large peeled tomatoes or 1 can peeled tomatoes
some chili (not much)
Olive oil, white wine (optional), salt
4 oz pasta (spaghetti, rigatoni, penne, almost everything is OK)
Romano cheese or Parmesan
Serves 4
Dice the jowl or bacon and brown it in olive oil with the chili, but be careful because the jowl must stay soft, shouldn't be crispy, and the sauce should not be too spicy and hot. Add some white wine (optional) and when it dries up add the tomatoes and some salt Let reduce and add some more salt if needed. Cook the pasta, drain it well, add the sauce and a liberal amount of grated cheese (traditionally Romano, but mixture of Romano and Parmesan is accepted, or even just Parmesan), mix well and serve.
A heated debate has gone on for ages, whether onions and (shudder) garlic are acceptable in the Matriciana. The classical recipe, as you see, has only the terse ingredients listed above, and purists consider any other seasoning an abomination. If you add something else the result can be good, but what you get is not Matriciana!
