smoky bacon pasta rossa
According to the Stanley Tucci series I haven’t seen, Amatriciana is one of the most famous pastas of Italy, claimed proudly by Rome despite not actually being from Rome. Amatrice, maybe 2 hours on the autostrada out of Rome, is the true birthplace of sugo alla amatriciana, the only one of the Big Four sauces (built on the trifecta of salted pork jowl, pecorino romano, and pasta water) to include tomato. Its earliest existence dates back to 1790; its direct predecessor is Alla Gricia, which came from the same area but is more dominant in the cheese department.
Like the rest of the old world 4-ingredient Roman pasta inventory, this is not a recipe to be messed with. And yet…
getting intimate with the superior fusilli
Those of us from the midwest who have been to malls with our mothers know that the Nordstrom Cafe is the highest level of in-mall dining experience. You saved that for the special trips where you buy school clothes (the rest of the time, us plebs would go to the Great Steak and Potato Company; we were not a Panda Express house). On the Nordstrom Cafe menu in late 2000s was Chicken Pasta Rossa, one of the first dishes I ever did for this site and probably should redo. It was a Cheesecake Factorycore kitchen sink recipe—chicken, spinach, mushrooms, garlic maybe sundried tomatoes? who’s to say?—but the star was the bacon, which the Romans have known for centuries just really works with tomato, and the fusilli bucati corti, an unusual and superior rendition of fusilli that I wasn’t able to find for years until Amazon decided to turn into esoteric pasta depot.
reconstituted into the nordstrom original with grilled chicken and spinach
This recipe is something I’ve made over and over again but never written down, that comes together in no more than 45 minutes and makes great use of the pack of bacon you bought and forgot about in the cheese drawer until 1 day past the “use by” date. It works with just about any pasta shape—I feel like rigatoni, bucatini, strozzapretti, orecchiette, spaghetti could all take this on—but I respect tradition, so I kept to the Nordstrom original. The 3/4 cup of cream total is fairly light for a 4-person dish, the chili flake heat is right, and the bacon grease is almost fully drained before building the sauce, making this more springtime bright than winter heavy. It is a killer companion to a bowl of balsamic vinegar-y bitter greens and a great alfresco choice; it was 81ºF at 8pm last night, and we comfortably ate this outside. Viva Amatrice!
RECIPE
This smoky bacon pasta in creamy, garlicky tomato sauce is inspired by the Roman classic Amatriciana, but owes equal credit to the Nordstrom Cafe’s Pasta Rossa. Comes together quickly with mostly pantry ingredients, perfect for a weeknight when suddenly nothing but pasta will do.
Effortful time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Serves: ~4 with a salad
YOU NEED
12 oz high-quality thick-cut bacon, sliced into small 1/2” thick strips
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup white wine; you can sub vodka or worst case water if you don’t have any around (I keep mini bottles of Sutter Home around just for this)
28 oz can tomato purée
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp chili flakes
3/4 cup heavy cream
Salt
12 oz pasta, this is fusilli bucati corti
Pecorino Romano cheese, for serving (can sub parm)
MAKE IT
Cook the bacon. In a large wide skillet with lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bacon strips and stir to coat. Cook slowly, stirring every so often, until the bacon is crisp and brown and the fat has fully rendered, about 10-12 minutes. You can semi cover with the lid to prevent splatters, but don’t fully cover. Turn off the heat. Remove the bacon bits to a bowl.
Sauté the aromatics. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the remaining fat. Add the shallot and garlic and reheat the pan over medium heat; sauté until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
Build your sauce. Return the bacon, pour in the white wine, and deglaze the pan to scrape up the bacon bits. Lower the heat to low, then pour in the tomato purée. Stir in the parsley and chili flakes and season with a bit of salt and some pepper.
Cook your sauce. Simmer this 20 minutes.
Cook your pasta. Once you start the sauce, you can heat water for pasta. Cook this to under al dente.
Add cream to your sauce. When your pasta goes in, add the cream to the sauce and stir to fully combine. It will turn pink, then rusty orange. Let simmer until the pasta is ready, 8-10 minutes probably depending on shape.
Marry the pasta and sauce. Save some pasta water, then add the pasta into the sauce over low heat, stirring to coat. Add a splash of the water to keep things glossy.
Serve it up with a medium-large showering of grated pecorino cheese and a medium-large glass of Italian red.