Chef Marco Maestoso in San Diego connected live on Instagram with La Cucina Italiana Editor in Chief Maddalena Fossati and prepared bucatini all’amatriciana, a beloved Roman dish with just a few delicious ingredients, while giving the followers a culinary history lesson.
“It is a typical Italian dish from Central Italy, and takes the name of Amatrice, a town about one and half hours out of Rome, in the area of Rieti,” revealed Maestoso. “It is actually a version of another dish, called pasta alla gricia, with the same ingredients but adding tomato sauce. In the 18th century, the dish became popular when it was served to the Pope by a chef Leonardi, who was also the inventor of the tomato sauce.”
Maestoso, whose name means “majestic” in English, proved to be king of his domain in the kitchen. Working with Chef Angelo Troiani in his Michelin star restaurant in Rome, awarded the best amatriciana in 2009, made him a true expert.
He shared all the tricks of the original recipe, including the secret ingredient up his sleeve: balsamic vinegar.
Chef Maestoso uses guanciale, a pork cheek cured with salt, pepper and peperoncino. For alternatives, we recommends pancetta or bacon, possibly not smoked. He cuts the guanciale in chunks and lightly fry it in a pan letting it sweat. There is no need to add any oil, as the guanciale releases the fat.
For pasta, he prefers bucatini, even if originally, the dish was prepared with maccheroni. Bucatini are similar to thick spaghetti with a hole in the middle to better absorb the goodness of the sauce. He puts the pasta in boiling water and removes two minutes before it cooks al dente to finish it in the saucepan.
While the pasta is cooking, he adds to the cooked guanciale some chopped red onion and garlic. “Originally, the sauce was made with just tomato sauce and guanciale”, said the chef, “but let’s bring it to a Michelin level!”.
He sautés the vegetables then add a drop of balsamic vinegar, his secret ingredient to give color and balance the flavors. When the vinegar evaporates, he adds the tomato purée. “The sauce is ready in just ten minutes,” he noted.
While the sauce cooks, he dices two more slices of guanciale, fries them on the side, and reserves them for garnish.
As many chefs do, he removes the pasta from the pot and adds it while wet directly in the sauce. “It is better not to drain the pasta, or at least to always save one glass of cooking water to use when finishing up the dish in the sauce”.
He adds pepper to the sauce for an extra kick, but there is no need to season it as the guanciale has enough spice. When the pasta is cooked al dente and well-mixed in the sauce, he removes the pan from the fire and adds grated sweet Pecorino Romano. “Don’t put too much Pecorino as it is very salty”, he advises. “You can also replace it with Parmigiano Reggiano or a mix of both cheeses”.
After he plates the dish, he adds a bit more Pecorino, and garnishes it with the reserved fried guanciale.
Tune in to @LaCucinaItalianaUSA to connect with more celebrity chefs and Maddalena Fossati in #BUTTALAPASTA Instagram live series.