This is one of the four great pasta dishes of Rome, along with Cacio e Pepe, Pasta alla Gricia and Pasta alla Carbonara. It starts as Gricia and gets the addition of a spicy tomato sauce. This was said to be the favorite dish of my wife’s Abruzzese grandfather that liked it so spicy no one else would eat it.

The pasta shape here is something you may not know about. Bucatini is like a thick piece of spaghetti with a hole through it like a straw. This allows the sauce to seep inside the pasta hold onto the sauce.

The dish originates from a town outside of Rome called Amatrice, though the Romans claim it for themselves. There is some debate whether onions or garlic should be included but I split the difference and added a half of an onion while cooking but then removed it for serving. This is a common trick in Italian cooking and garlic is often used the same way.

I used pancetta for the recipe though guancile (pork cheek) is traditional. Use it if you can find it but pancetta works just fine.

This, like many Italian recipes, looks like a simple dish with just a few ingredients, so find the best quality of each item you can. Enjoy!