Zia Maria, a Trip to Italy and Pasta all"Amatriciana

 Pasta All'Amatriciana

Spicy tomato sauce with pancetta and onions

A  LITTLE STORY

The first time I had this wonderful pasta dish I was sitting in the tiny kitchen of my Zia Maria's home. She lives right in the core of beautiful Rome. It was my first visit to Rome. I had flown to Rome many times as a child but never stayed there. We were picked up by family and driven to my parent's hometown nestled in the valley of the stunning Lepini hills. We always went in the summer so my Zia and her family spent their summers in the village. We would stay with my father's parents in this tiny house at the bottom of a hill. I remember as a young child rushing out first thing in the morning to get the water from the barrels to wash ourselves. My Nonna would make the most delicious meals on her wood firepit . I can still smell the fresh chicken roasting on the fire. The rosemary and olive oil so pungent and earthy. I helped my Nonno kill that chicken (that was not pleasant!) but oh did it taste good. 

I first ventured back to Italy as an adult about 17 years ago. I brought my oldest daughter with me. I wanted her to meet her relatives and understand where she came from and what life was like for her Grandparents. She love this trip. She was cherished by my relatives and cousins and friends. She became close friends with some and still keeps in contact with them. It didn't matter that they couldn't understand each other, they made it work. The trip was magical. It was not just a trip to visit my relatives that I had not seen in many, many years but it was a spiritual journey as well. I had spent years not really paying much attention to my Italian heritage. Busy with working full time, raising children and trying to do it all. Cooking had become a chore, it was something I had to throw together quickly at the end of a long day, before they had to head back out for their after school activities. We ate a great deal of chicken fingers and french fries in those days. I would try to cook from scratch when I could and usually Sunday became the day that I would try to make something better. This trip to Italy became an awakening of my roots for me. It was an unfolding and recognition that my heritage was something I wanted to embrace and rediscover. I cried a great deal on that trip, walking down a path, entering a church or a house and the memories would flood back to me of summers spent playing in Italy and going to the sea to swim in its waters. There are two memories that were of particular significance to me. The first was when my daughter and I were walking from my Nonno's house and a man on the path stopped me. He asked if I was the daughter of Rocco and he said that his name was also Rocco and my dad was his Godfather. I cried because I didn't know this story but he knew me. We talked for hours that day about my dad and his importance in this man's life. That day my daughter asked me " are you ever going to stop crying???" The next event was when my cousins and I had gone out for a pizza one night. It was an incredible, beautiful evening and the restaurant was outside in the middle of the country. We danced and drank grappa and shared stories. That night this woman stopped me and called me by my name. I didn't recognize her at first until she told me it was Maria and we were cousins. Not only were we cousins but she was my best friend in Italy. As soon as she said this, memories of us playing together and running around the houses came flooding back. The next day, I went to visit her and her family. Her father (Zio)was my father's first cousin and they were best friends growing up. He was old and frail when I met him but Zia told me all sorts of stories of their childhood but also of when we would visit in the summer. They embraced us and welcomed us as if they knew us all our lives. It was as if years had not passed by. "Famiglia e famiglia" they would say to me. Family is family no matter how many years have passed. It was very hard to leave when it was time.

I returned home with a renewed sense and excitement of who I am and where I came from. I began to embrace and appreciate my heritage and develop a passion for cooking authentic Italian dishes that I grew up on. I have been going back to Italy on a regular basis since then. It calls  me back again and again and I hopefully wait to return. 

I did not grow up on this dish as it originates from an area outside of Rome called "Amitrice." My mother cooked the dishes she knew so this one was not familiar to her. In my Zia's kitchen many years ago was the first time we tried this dish and bucatini pasta. We fell in love with it. It is true what they say that food envokes such strong emotions and this dish does that for me.

THE RECIPE

Pasta all' Amatriciana pairs best with bucatini pasta but if you don't have that then penne rigate or rigatoni or a noodle with a thicker consistency that will hold this rich sauce. Bucatini  are long spaghetti noodles but thicker and have a hole in the middle. Kids love them because they can have fun slurping up the sauce with them! There is much debate (of course there is!) about the right ingredients for Amatriciana. Some say yes to garlic and others say no. Some say it's okay to use bacon and others say no way. The one thing they are consistent in is that you use pecorino romano cheese. Pecorino means "of the sheep". Pecorino is a hard cheese originating in the Lazio region. It has a much saltier and intense taste than parmigiano reggiano.  It really does make a difference. Typically this dish is made with guanciale (pork cheek) but since it can be hard to find I happily use pancetta (pork belly cured meat). I don't measure exactly but when purchasing it from the butcher ,I ask them to cut  a chunk about 1.5 inches thick. I then slice it in half across the diameter and then dice it. I have tried this dish different ways and the way I make it now is the one that best emulates my Zia's. This recipe is partially based on the recipe in the cookbook "The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" by Marcella Hazan. I have recommended this book before in a previous post. It is an excellent book for beginners and for those who want a great reference for measurements and ingredients. I continue to sing its praises!

My beautiful Zia at 91 yrs old

Ingredients

• 2-3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• nice chunk of guanciale or pancetta cubed. (QB)
• 1 can of San Marzano whole plum tomatoes. 
• Chopped red hot chili pepper or chili flakes (QB)
• salt
• 1/2 cup of grated pecorino romano and more for sprinkling on top (QB)
• 450 gram of pasta 

 

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet.
2. Add onions and saute until onions are transclucent and have become a bit golden
3. Add the chili pepper or flakes and pancetta and stir in. Cook at medium heat for about 3 minutes. Careful not to burn or let crisp up too much.
4. Crush the tomatoes with your hand and add to pan
5. Add a bit of salt
6. Put water in pot to boil and turn on heat. Drop your pasta when water is ready. Don't forget to generously salt the water!
7. Allow sauce to simmer at a steady pace uncovered for as long as it takes for the pasta to cook- about 25 minutes. Taste it and adjust salt and chilies to your preference. Once the sauce thickens to a nice consistency you can turn off stove until pasta is ready.
8. Cook noodles until almost al dente. With a spyder transfer the pasta to the skillet. Don't throw out the pasta water just yet and make sure your heat is back on under sauce if turned off (low-medium)
9. Stir the pasta well into the sauce until it is all covered. Add some pasta water (a ladle should do the trick) and the cheese. Keep stirring. The sauce should become creamier and the pasta will continue to cook until done. This should only be for 1-2 minutes or you will overcook the pasta and the sauce will evaporate.
10. Serve in bowls and sprinkle more pecorino on top!

A mangia!

Fatto con Amore,

Elena 💜