A hearty and yummy pasta dish with Amatriciana, a traditional Italian pasta sauce made with pancetta, onion, garlic and chilli – it’s full of flavours and makes a great family dinner dish.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 200 g round pancetta, chopped
- 1 medium (950 g) brown onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 2 x 400 g cans diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh basil leaves, plus extra to serve
- 1 quantity Fresh Pasta, cut into desired widths, or 400 g dried pasta
- ½ cup (40 g) freshly grated Parmesan
Steps
Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat; cook pancetta for 5 mins or until starting to crisp. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon, place on a paper towel-lined plate. Add remaining oil to pan; cook onion, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins or until soft but not browned.
Add garlic and chilli; cook, stirring for 1 min or until fragrant. Add tomatoes, sugar and basil; simmer, uncovered, for 20 mins or until thickened.
Blend or process sauce, if desired, then return to heat and add pancetta.
Cook pasta in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water; drain. Serve with sauce, adding a splash of reserved cooking water if necessary to amalgamate sauce with pasta. Top with Parmesan and extra basil leaves.
Photo: John Paul Urizar/BauerSyndication.com.au