Spaghetti all’Amatriciana

To contact us Click HERE
There are some great Italian restaurants in the Richmondarea. When asked to pick favorites, most Richmonders say Mama Zu’s or Edo’sSquid—two classics and fantastic, to be sure. But my favorite has to beMaldini’s in Forest Hill. I may be a tad biased because I lived in thatneighborhood previously, and frequently ate in or had it delivered. Justthinking about it now is making me hungry. One of the dishes that my husbandfrequently ordered was the Spaghetti all’Amatriciana. So when I saw a recipefor it on Saveur, I thought it might be a good weekend project. Well, myhusband definitely liked it. It was a little too intense for me, but I am moreof a white sauce person myself. It had a lot of flavor, definitely was not asubtle dish. But don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself!


Ingredients12 oz. thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into ¼" strips2 tbsp. unsalted butter2 medium carrots, finely chopped1 large yellow onion, finely choppedKosher salt, to taste4 cloves garlic, finely chopped1 sprig rosemary1 sprig sage2 tbsp. red wine1 (28-oz). can crushed tomatoes2 tbsp. olive oil2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes1 lb. dried spaghettiFinely grated Parmesan
Start by getting out your trusty Dutch oven. I swear, thatis one kitchen piece that gets almost as much work as our chef’s pan. Cook thebacon over medium heat until it’s good and crispy, about 15 minutes or so.Scoop out the bacon (but leave the grease) and put it on some paper towels forlater. Next you want to melt the butter with the bacon grease and then toss inthe carrots and onion. Season with a little salt and cook about 6 minutes sothe veggies are soft. Add half of the garlic, plus the rosemary and sage andcook about 2 minutes. You may want to tie your herbs together with kitchenstring. We didn’t, and they were hard to scoop out later (which I think addedto the intensity of the flavor). Next pour in your wine and deglaze the pan.Cook until the wine evaporates, about 5 minutes or so, and then add in thetomatoes. Bring this to a boil, and then turn the heat down to medium low. Nowcomes the part where you put down the spoon and walk away. Cook partiallycovered and cook about 2 hours until thickened, stirring every once in awhile.
Your next step is to take out the herbs and throw them away.Ours fell apart and there were rosemary leaves everywhere, so hopefully itholds together a little better for you. You’ll want to get as much of it out aspossible. If you want a smooth sauce, you can blend it (much easier if you havean immersion blender!) but we didn’t. Seemed like an unnecessary step to me.The recipe also said to only use 3/4ths of the bacon to add back to the sauce,but we threw it all back in. I mean, it’s bacon. Add the rest of the garlic andoil, pepper and red pepper flakes and let it sit (still keeping it warm) whileyou get the noodles ready.
We made fresh pasta for this, so that’s why our noodles aren’texactly spaghetti, if you’re paying attention at home. Once your pasta isready, mix it into the sauce and toss to coat, then serve with a littleParmesan grated on top! It should be slightly spicy with a strong tomatoflavor. It wasn’t my favorite, but my husband gobbled it down, so try it outand see what you think!