2019-07-31 - Pasta all'amatriciana
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A piece of travel writing in the New York Times led me to a local
recipe from the Commune d'Amatrice for the signature dish of the
region, pasta all'amatriciana. Reading the travel thing and the
recipe reminded me that so very many Northern Europeans and
Americans seem to be utterly incapable of understanding two very
simple facts about Italian cooking. In order of importance:-
1) Stop putting FUCKING GARLIC in everything.
2) Stop putting FUCKING ONIONS in every fucking thing.
Italian cooking, particularly the type of regional speciality
dishes which make that country's cuisine so utterly delectable,
relies to a significant extent on local produce, local ingredients.
Its not possible to imitate all of those peculiarities outside
Italy, or even within it. It is however possible to source decent
alternatives, quality food.
The reason Italian cooking relies on simple ingredients is that
the people were dirt poor. The food and the tastes of the food are
built around the flavours of the limited ingredients.
What they are not built around is the pervasive punishing blast of
the various allium plants. If you shove those wretched plants into
every dish, then usually all you can taste is the allium,
everything else becomes a background murmur compared to the full on
blast of rotten breath.
With something like all'amatriciana, the ingredients are so
limited, so delicate, that any use of the alliums completely
destroys the dish. If you o use them, then you're not making
dall'amatraciana. You're making something else, something less,
something which lacks all flavour.
Why is this *so* hard for N. Europeans / Americans?
Recipe for 4
500 g. of spaghetti
125 g. of guanciale
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
a drop (goccio) of dry white wine
6 or 7 San Marzano tomatoes or
400 g. of peeled tomatoes
a pinch of chili pepper
100 g. of grated pecorino
salt
If cooking for more, adjust the amounts, keeping in mind that the
ratio of pasta to guanciale should remain 4:1
Guanciale isn't easy to get outside of Italy. I usually sin against
the gods and use pancetta, or even bacon if in dire straits.
In an iron pan, place the oil, guanciale and pepper. Brown over a
high flame.
Add the wine.
Take your largest pan. Add lots of water. Then add more water. Add
salt, then some more water. Now you can cook your pasta. Cook it to
just al dente while you get on with the rest of the recipe.
Remove the guanciale pieces, allowing the juices to drip into the
pan.
Add the tomatoes, cooking over a high flame for a few minutes.
Put the guanciale back in the pan, mixing all the ingredients.
When all is in readiness, strain the al dente pasta and place in
a good quality earthenware bowl. I usually flash the bowl with
boiling water just before use.
Add the pecorino to the pasta and admire it for a few seconds.
Breathe the luxurious scent of good cheese mixing with the hot
pasta.
Pour the sauce onto the cheese and pasta, all of it, everything in
the pan.
Mix it all up.
Serve piping hot as a sharing dish in the middle of the table. You
should probably have plenty of pecorino grated for those who want
it. (Personally, I use a pecorino/parmesan mix for the table.)
That's it. There's nothing else needed.
Enjoy a traditional dish, enjoy the flavours which some from
hundreds of years of tradition. No onion. No garlic.
