P
Italian · Amatrice, Lazio/Abruzzo
Amatriciana Originale di Amatrice
The original Amatriciana from the mountain town of Amatrice — made with spaghetti (not rigatoni), guanciale (not pancetta), no onion, no garlic, and Pecorino Romano only. The guanciale is crisped in olive oil, white wine deglazed and reduced, then San Marzano tomatoes added and cooked 10 minutes maximum — the tomato sauce should be fresh and bright, not long-cooked. The pasta is finished in the pan with the sauce. A precise, minimal dish where each flavour is distinct and identifiable. The Amatrice earthquake of 2016 destroyed much of the town; the dish is now a tribute to what was lost.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
400 g
spaghetti
Your own market
200 g
guanciale
cut into matchsticks
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
400 g
San Marzano tomatoes, peeled
crushed by hand
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 ml
dry white wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tbsp
olive oil
Your own market
60 g
Pecorino Romano
finely grated
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Place the olive oil and guanciale matchsticks in a wide pan over medium heat. Render slowly, turning occasionally, until the edges are crisp and translucent fat has run freely into the pan but the interior of each piece remains tender. The guanciale is ready when the edges colour to a pale gold and the fat in the pan is fragrant and clear.
From the canon — Guanciale (from 'guancia' — cheek) is the cured pig's jowl that is foundational to Roman cooking — the fat used in amatriciana, carbonara, cacio e pepe's ric… Guanciale — Cured Pig's Cheek of Lazio and Abruzzo →
2
Pour in the dry white wine. The pan will hiss and the wine will lift the rendered fat from the base. Allow it to reduce by half over medium-high heat until the sharp alcohol smell softens and only a faint acidity remains on the nose. This step balances the richness of the guanciale; it is not optional in the Amatrice original.
3
Add the hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes. If the guanciale fat is very abundant, drain off the excess before this addition. Cook at a steady simmer for 8–10 minutes maximum. This is where the dish lives or dies: the sauce must finish bright-red and fresh-smelling, with the tomato still tasting of itself and not of long cooking. A dull, darkened, jammy sauce means the dish is already lost.
4
Cook the spaghetti in well-salted boiling water to 2 minutes under the packet's al dente time. Drain, reserving a ladleful of pasta water, and transfer directly to the pan of sauce. Toss over medium heat, adding pasta water in small additions as needed, until the sauce clings evenly to every strand and the spaghetti is fully al dente. The pasta is done when it offers a faint resistance at the centre and the sauce has tightened around it.
From the canon — Pasta cooking water contains dissolved starch (released from the pasta surface during boiling) at a concentration that increases with pasta-to-water ratio an… Pasta Water: Starch Concentration and Sauce Binding →
5
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the Pecorino Romano and toss vigorously. The cheese should melt into the sauce without clumping, forming a lightly cohesive coating — not a paste, not a pool. Taste: the correct register is sharp and saline from the sheep's milk cheese, not mild or creamy. Parmigiano is incorrect.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Guanciale from a single Amatricino or Sabino producer, air-cured for a minimum of three months; San Marzano DOP tomatoes from a named estate, packed in their own juice only; aged Pecorino Romano DOP, minimum eight months.
02
Estate — Artisan guanciale from any reputable central-Italian salumiere; San Marzano DOP tinned tomatoes from a reliable importer; Pecorino Romano DOP of standard age.
03
Market — Good-quality guanciale from a specialist butcher or Italian grocer — pancetta is not a substitute; any whole peeled plum tomatoes of clean flavour; Pecorino Romano from a supermarket cheese counter.
04
House — The minimum requirement is guanciale — no other cured pork replicates the fat-to-lean ratio and flavour. Below this threshold the dish changes identity. All other components may be market-grade.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Guanciale edges are pale gold and crisp; the rendered fat in the pan is clear, not cloudy or brown.
◇Smell. After the white wine reduction, the sharp alcohol note has resolved to a soft acidity with no raw wine smell remaining.
◇Sight. The finished tomato sauce is bright red and lightly textured — not dark, not smooth, not reduced to a paste.
◇Touch. Spaghetti pressed between two fingers yields a faint resistance at the core: fully al dente, not soft through.
◇Where it lives or dies. The tomato sauce must not cook beyond 10 minutes: the moment it loses its fresh, bright character, the essential counterpoint to the guanciale is gone and the dish cannot be recovered.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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