Bucatini All'Amatriciana

Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 slices of unsmoked bacon
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28 ounce can peeled tomatoes with juices, crushed by hand
• Kosher salt
• 12 ounces dried bucatini or spaghetti
• 1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino (or Parmesan)

Directions

Cook Bacon to desired crispiness in a large nonstick skillet. Drain on a paper towel. Reserve 1 tsp. of the fat from the pan, discard the rest.

Chop or crumble bacon into small pieces.

Return bacon to the pan with 1 tsp. of fat, pepper flakes and black pepper. Stir for 30 seconds.

 Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until soft, about 8 minutes. 

 Add tomatoes, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 2 minutes before al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking water.

Add drained pasta to sauce in skillet and toss vigorously with tongs to coat. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and cook until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. 

Top with cheese.

Recipe adapted from: epicurious.com