Sauces · Italian cuisine
Amatriciana
Guanciale, tomato and pecorino from the mountains around Amatrice – protected as a TSG since 2020.
At a glance
- Origin
- Amatrice (Lazio), Monti della Laga; tomatoes from the early 19th century.
- Production
- Rendered guanciale with white wine, tomatoes cooked briefly, guanciale returned at the end.
- Ratio
- Guanciale 18–30%, tomato 69–81%, olive oil 0.5–1% of the finished sauce.
- Pairs with
- Traditionally spaghetti or bucatini, but short pasta too.
- Use
- Without tomato it becomes the older gricia.
Amatriciana is a sauce of cured guanciale and tomatoes, seasoned with white wine, chilli or pepper and served with grated pecorino. It comes from Amatrice in the Monti della Laga; since March 2020 “Amatriciana Tradizionale” has been registered in the EU as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG).
Under the specification, rindless guanciale is cut into strips, rendered slowly in a drop of olive oil, deglazed with white wine and lifted out once golden. In the same fat the tomatoes cook briskly with salt and chilli for 10–20 minutes before the guanciale goes back in. Amatrice-style pecorino or Pecorino Romano is recommended.
Shepherds took guanciale and flour into the hills; according to the specification tomatoes arrived in the early 19th century, and Amatrice innkeepers spread the dish to Rome. Without tomato it is gricia. Garlic, onion and pancetta have no place in it.