Amatriciana with Linguine

This is a guest post from Sammi of Grounded & Surrounded

We don’t eat pasta dishes often in our home. However, when we do we make this delicious recipe! Amatriciana was lovingly written into my recipe book years ago. I love the simplicity of the ingredients and the ease of preparation. Let’s not forgot the incredible flavor!

Amatriciana is a fancy word for a pasta sauce made with tomatoes, bacon (or an authentic Italian cured pork), and red pepper flakes. We serve ours with linguine pasta, but use whatever you have on hand. Spaghetti noodles work well too!

If you are needing a new way to eat “spaghetti”, this may be it! The bacon and red pepper flakes are the perfect combination for a savory sauce with a little kick.

Here is what you need:

Step 1: Heat a large saute pan on the stove over med-high heat. Dice bacon strips into bite-sized pieces. Fry bacon until crispy.

Step 2: On a small cutting board, dice onion into small pieces.

Step 3: Start heating a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.

Step 4: Add diced onions and red pepper flakes to the pan of cooked bacon (and the grease). Saute for 2-3 minutes or until onions are translucent.

Step 5: On a small cutting board, finely dice fresh basil leaves as the onions saute.

Step 6: Add 16 oz of linguine pasta to the boiling water. Cook until just shy of al dente. Boil the linguine noodles for 9 minutes, though the box says 11-13 minutes for fully cooked pasta. The noodles will finish cooking in the pasta sauce.

Step 7: To the pan of bacon and onions, add the garlic, stewed tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes while breaking up the tomatoes . The sauce will begin to thicken.

Step 8: With a pasta fork, add the not quite al dente pasta to the pan of red sauce. Stir the pasta and sauce together over low-medium heat for 2-3 more minutes.

Step 9: Remove the pasta and sauce mixture from heat. Serve topped with additional chopped basil and Parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes: Boil your entire package of noodles (16oz) and save 1/4 (4oz) of cooked noodles in the fridge for later.

Sammi Ricke likes to keep things simple, delicious, and nutritious in her kitchen. She enjoys the challenge of finding unique ways to incorporate “just one more whole food” into every meal while leaving just enough room for life’s essentials: chocolate and peanut butter. If you are looking for “healthified” versions of your family’s favorite meals be sure to visit Sammi’s Grounded & Surrounded Blog. You can also find her on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.