Cold winter nights call for hearty winter comfort food, and the Italians have this well covered with their pasta recipes. Especially when there’s some spice involved, providing some bonus warmth, tick, tick, tick. Enter, spaghetti amatriciana.

As far as sauces go, this one is relatively simple (you can expect dinner on the table in 30 minutes or so, win!) but thanks to the addition of crispy, panfried guanciale (cured pork jowl) and chilli flakes to the backdrop of sweet tomatoes, finished off with a punchy pecorino, packs a whopping punch of flavour bite after bite. I left out the garlic and onion this time around but I can imagine this regional variation of the recipe would also go down a treat, and I will have to give it a go next time around. I suspect sooner than later as the winter chills aren’t letting up any time soon… Brrrrr.

I had some fresh parsley and basil on hand, so in they went. Beautiful complementary flavours with the fresh herbaceous profile of the herbs balancing out the richer flavours from the spaghetti. Not to mention a visual treat for the eyes (you eat with your eyes first after all) and camera :)

Ready to give this one a go? Scroll down.

SPAGHETTI AMATRICIANA

INGREDIENTS

• 75 - 100g guanciale, cut into ~1 cm pieces

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 400 g canned whole or crushed tomatoes

• 250 g spaghetti

• 2 tablespoons chilli flakes (to taste, add more or less depending on heat preference)

• 1/4 cup grated pecorino (30g), plus extra to serve

• parsley and basil to serve (optional)

METHODS

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium to large sized pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the guanciale and pan-fry until crispy. For more heat, you can add the chilli flakes to the pan as the guanciale is cooking, or wait until the next step just before adding in the tomatoes. You can remove a tablespoon or two of the pan-fried guanciale if you want some crunchy bits to sprinkle on top of your spaghetti.

   • 1 tablespoon olive oil + 75-100 g guanciale (+2 tablespoons chilli flakes)

2. If you haven’t already, add the chilli flakes to the pan, stir around the pan for 10-30 seconds before adding the canned tomatoes and stirring to combine. If you’re using whole tomatoes, use a wooden spoon or spatula to break down the tomatoes. Reduce to low heat, and allow the tomato mixture to simmer and thicken for 15-20 minutes while stirring regularly. Season with salt and pepper to taste but I find this isn’t necessary given the saltiness from the guanciale and spice from the chilli flakes.

   • 400 g canned tomatoes

3. In the mean time, bring a pot of water to boil and prepare the spaghetti according to packet instructions. If you prefer more bite to your spaghetti, remove 1-2 minutes cooking time from the suggested time as the spaghetti will cook a little further when added to the sauce. Before draining the pasta, reserve a cup of the cooking water.

   • 250 g spaghetti

4. One the tomato sauce has thickened, add the spaghetti alongside 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water, and toss through to thoroughly combine. Add more pasta water if required. Add and stir through the grated pecorino.

   • 1/4 cup (30 g) grated pecorino

5. Serve immediately with grated pecorino and fresh basil and parsley if so desired.

Enjoy!