About the Recipe
My sister’s favourite Roman dish which originates in a small village not far from Rome itself - there is a reason for her undying love for this dish!
Usually made with a slightly different type of guanciale that has been cured with some kind of red pepper/chilli mix rather than just salt and peppercorns.
Ingredients
200g Guanciale (can be substituted for pancetta or bacon but won't yield the same results)
1 can of tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional but recommended as most cans of tomatoes won't be as tomato-y as Italian cans)
Parmesan to garnish
160g Spaghetti/rigatoni/buccatoni/pasta of your choice
Preparation
Boil the pasta according to package instructions with a heavy pinch of salt
Prepare the guanciale: remove the outermost layer of guanciale that would have come in contact with air, making sure to remove as little as possible of any of the fat/meat. Then gently fry the guanciale without any oil on medium heat as it will release its own fat to cook in.
Add tomatoes: add canned tomatoes and tomato paste once the guanciale looks crunchy and fry off just to remove the acidic edge of the tomatoes.
Combine: just before the pasta finishes boiling (around 1 minute) bring it into your pan to finish cooking it in the sauce and give the sauce a bit of starch.
Serve with a healthy dose of grated parmesan.